


Don't go; Meet me in the Afterglow

by afterglowposie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, and they may or may not hook up all over hogwarts, but with the triwizard tournament, dark josie??, fluff? idk i haven't decided yet, the posie hogwarts au that nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 78,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23897743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterglowposie/pseuds/afterglowposie
Summary: Josie swallows nervously, loosening her tie as she draws her wand.She had wanted her last year at Hogwarts to be a relatively normal year, but it's been proven that it's impossible. She takes in a shuddering breath, willing herself to calm down, that the figure in front of her isn't who she thinks it is."Don't let it break."Before she can take another step forward, she's thrown off her feet.
Relationships: Penelope Park & Josie Saltzman, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 364
Kudos: 1056





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so i've had this fic on my computer for months and wasn't sure if i'd ever post it, bc harry potter au's are always used for fics, but then i thought "fuck it imma post it". So here it is. a Posie hp au that i never thought i'd post. 
> 
> That being said if u stumble across this fic, I hope y'all enjoy it. And if you do, I promise i'll be updating this one more regularly than my other fic (if u read that one) cuz this one is already mostly written. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Josie needs to stop getting herself into this mess.

She swears it would be so much easier for her to get herself out of it if Penelope’s hands and lips weren’t so inviting. Josie had spent the entire trip back to Hogwarts ignoring Penelope’s presence, but she could only resist the other girl for so long, and Penelope was rather quick to push her into a broom closet. 

“I missed you.” Penelope whispers, her breath ghosting over Josie’s cheeks. Josie missed Penelope during the summer in her own odd way, too, but Josie wasn’t about to admit that when Penelope’s thigh is pressed between her own, and Josie doesn’t miss the way Penelope’s hips shift, pressing closer- how could she? 

She decides to ignore the small gasp Penelope elicits from her at the movement, finding herself studying the other girl- they haven’t seen each other in months, after all. There’s something different about the Slytherin in front of her, but Josie can’t place her finger on it. 

Penelope’s hair is tousled- thanks to Josie’s wandering hands, and her eyes are that same striking green that match the green on her uniform, but this time there’s a different glint in them- maybe Penelope was telling the truth after all when she told Josie she had missed her. Her white shirt is messily undone halfway- also thanks to Josie, tan skin peeking out, Penelope’s black bra making Josie want to pop the rest of the buttons open, but she somehow manages to keep her hands in Penelope’s hair. She watches as Penelope’s swollen lips part again as she runs her tongue over them. Josie can think of a hundred other things Penelope could be with it right now. 

“You know, we should-” 

“Stop talking and kiss me.” Josie demands, pulling Penelope forward by her tie, their lips crashing together. Penelope’s hands wander to Josie’s shirt, unbuttoning it with ease, her lips pressing against the newly bared skin. Josie’s hands leave Penelope’s hair, pushing her hands under her shirt, resting on her hips. 

It’s been months since they last did anything like this, and Josie’s desperate for more. More kisses, more touching and grabbing- all the things she doesn’t have to think about. That’s what she likes about being with Penelope. Whenever she’s with her, she doesn’t have to think or worry if she’s being too rough or too soft, if she’s moving too fast or slow. Penelope just lets her take and take. Josie squeezes Penelope’s hips, and wordlessly Penelope looks up again at Josie, kisses her roughly. 

Penelope laughs as Josie attacks the skin, “Somebody’s eager.” She notes. Before Josie can demand that Penelope shut up and kiss her again, Penelope grinds her hips down, and Josie’s biting back a moan. 

Josie  _ should _ be in the Dining Hall with her friends, watching the first years and new students get sorted into their houses, but instead she’s in a musty broom closet, moaning Penelope Park’s name when she touches her in all the right places. 

Penelope’s shifting, moving her thigh away, and Josie would be embarrassed at the desperate whine she lets out, but Penelope’s too focused on unbuttoning Josie’s pants to tease her for it.

“Fuck, you’re so wet,” Penelope comments, almost in awe as she runs a finger torturously slow through Josie’s folds, “I don’t remember you getting so worked up that easily.” 

Josie would hate Penelope’s comments during any other one of their... hookups, but Penelope’s not necessarily wrong. As embarrassing as it is to admit, it didn’t take as much to get Josie so worked up- something Josie’s sure Penelope will brag about whenever she gets the chance. 

“Pen… shut up.” Josie tells her with a shuddering moan as Penelope runs a finger over her clit- she definitely doesn’t sound as threatening as she wanted to. 

Penelope chuckles, like her hand isn’t down the front of Josie’s pants, and smiles. “What happens if I don’t shut up?” She asks cockily. “It’s always more fun telling you what I plan on doing with you, watching you-”

Josie groans. Penelope Park is so  _ infuriating,  _ and at times she wonders how she could ever sleep with her, but Penelope will kiss her or touch her in ways that make it feel like the first time, and Josie’s reminded why she deals with Penelope’s antics. 

But not right now. They’re in a broom closet, only a few turns away from the dining hall- meaning  _ anybody  _ can find them at any moment, and Penelope wants to tease her? Absolutely not. 

“I’ll do it myself.” She tells her, moving her own hand, and Penelope swats it away.

Josie feels proud of herself when Penelope briefly looks like Josie knocked the air out of her lungs, and Penelope covers it up by pulling Josie into a searing kiss. 

Penelope fumbles a bit when she slips two fingers into Josie’s heat, taking a moment to find the rhythm, to manipulate her fingers into curving and thrusting in the way that she knows makes Josie shudder and moan her name. Josie’s so desperate that her hips move up to match the rhythm, and Penelope pushes them back down, quickening her pace as she kisses down Josie’s neck, taking her time to bite and suck. 

It only takes a few minutes of Penelope’s movements and her teasing kisses before Josie starts gripping her tighter, starts moaning her name a little louder. Penelope twists her hand- mostly to fix the angle she’s at, but it’s enough to make Josie become undone, and she feels a tiny surge of pride when she does. 

Penelope helps Josie button her shirt back up before she fixes her own, handing the Gryffindor her tie and robes, slinging her own around her shoulders. 

Josie’s looking at Penelope with that adorable confused pout she does whenever Penelope leaves before the brunette wants her to, “What are you doing?” Josie asks quietly, fingers finding the loops of Penelope’s pants, “I can-”

“I’m hungry,” Penelope shrugs, gently pushing the girl’s hands away, “And as satisfying it was watching you come for the first time in months, I need a  _ proper  _ meal. You should go get something to eat, I know you don’t eat on the train since it makes you sick.” 

Josie’s pout only deepens, and Penelope feels like she’s leaving a lost puppy out in the rain. But Penelope never stays long enough for them to have full conversations, so why should this time be any different? 

“I’ll see you around.” Penelope says before she can change her mind, slipping out of the closet just as easily as she slipped the two of them inside fifteen minutes ago. 

By the time Josie makes it to the dining hall, pushing herself between Lizzie and some third or fourth year, there’s hardly any first years left to be sorted through. Thank god, she’s  _ starving.  _ Lizzie doesn’t notice her presence until a few moments later, after the last first year gets sorted to Gryffindor and they cheer them on. 

“Where  _ were  _ you? MG and I were starting to worry.” 

“I got distracted, I’m sorry,” Josie apologizes. “How many first years did we get?” She asks, wanting to distract herself from her little venture with Penelope.

“Only seven,” Lizzie tells her sullenly, “Slytherin got eleven.” 

“Oh.” Is Josie’s only response, because she doesn’t really care. Of course Lizzie does, since she’s a Prefect and has to show the first years around the castle once dinner is over. She manages to go through a few minutes of peacefully eating when Lizzie suddenly flicks Josie’s neck, causing her to jump slightly at the sudden pain.

“What?” Josie asks dumbly through a mouthful of green beans. “What’s wrong?” 

“Your  _ tie _ ?” Lizzie empathizes, yanking on it, thankfully not hard enough to cause the fabric to loosen and reveal her neck- which looks like it was mauled by a tiger, no thanks to Penelope. “It’s Syltherin. Are you fraternizing with the enemy?” 

_ No. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Holy shit.  _

A few heads turn their way, all staring at Josie’s misplaced tie-  _ Penelope’s  _ tie, and Josie wants to go for a walk into the forbidden forest and never return. 

“I- it’s…” Josie stutters out, “Hope loaned it to me, I couldn’t find my own, and I didn’t want to come to dinner without a tie, you know, we’re all supposed to wear our robes during the sorting-”

“You weren’t even here for most of the sorting this year,” Lizzie cuts her off, “And we’re supposed to wear ties that  _ match  _ our house. Make sure you give it back to Hope.” 

Surprisingly, Lizzie doesn’t give her as much of a hard time as Josie had anticipated, most likely because she’s just as hungry as Josie. 

“Of course I will.” Josie grumbles as Lizzie goes back to her food. She’s more than glad that Lizzie had believed Josie’s lie- or just decided to not care if she was lying or not, but she’s thoroughly annoyed at herself for grabbing the wrong tie. 

Since when was she that reckless? Sure, starting her habit of sleeping with Penelope all over the castle last semester was reckless in itself, but Josie had always been careful to erase any evidence Penelope left behind. Any wrinkle, tear in her clothes, her hair. All the evidence she could get rid of, anyways. 

And now she grabs Penelope Park’s tie? Reckless. 

She’s even more annoyed thinking about it, because there’s been a few times when Josie was so wrapped up in getting to Lizzie, or getting to class on time and Penelope has stopped her, fixing her shirt or her hair when Josie fails to do so. Which means that even Penelope was too caught up with what they had just done to realize they grabbed the wrong ties.

Josie turns to look at the Slytherin table, and it doesn’t take her long to find Penelope, the red and yellow sticking out like a sore thumb in the sea of green and silver. 

Penelope’s chatting with some friends without a care in the world, and there’s  _ no way  _ that they haven’t criticized her on her outfit choice. Josie’s staring for a few moments, and she’s telling herself that she needs to turn her attention back to her own friends and stop staring like a freak, but Penelope looks up in her direction. 

They lock eyes for a few moments, and Josie wants to scream at Penelope when she realizes that the other witch is smirking, because  _ of course  _ she is. Nothing seems to phase her. Penelope winks at her before looking away. 

Josie does too, but it’s less than a minute when she’s looking at Penelope again, and this time, Penelope’s not smirking, but she seems… she looks strangely comfortable with Josie’s tie around her neck, almost beaming in pride when one of her other Slytherin friends approaches her and gestures at it obnoxiously.

She’s not sure what to do with that information, and starts stabbing at her green beans angrily. 

Just as Josie feels like she’s starting to settle back in, and Penelope’s presence isn’t lurking over her shoulder, Lizzie shoves her again, “I forgot to tell you, Mom was looking for you earlier.” 

Josie groans at that, “What did she need?” 

Lizzie shrugs, “Mom’s been so busy adjusting to being the headmaster, I’ve barely been able to understand a word she speaks these days.” 

“I’ll talk to her after dinner.” Josie tells her, guilt settling in as she realizes she never wished her mother good luck like she had wanted to. She’d blame Penelope, but she should have done it when she insisted her and Lizzie still take the express. Josie’s done her best to separate her life at Hogwarts from her life at home from her parents. Her mother was a student at Hogwarts years ago, and now she’s returning. Josie’s not too excited of the idea of her personal life and school life mixing- especially when Penelope will eventually find out that their new headmaster is her  _ mother,  _ and she definitely doesn’t want her mother to learn about Penelope’s existence. 

After a few more minutes of watching MG trying to prove that he’s perfected the  _ Sectumsempra _ spell on a few carrots- which has Josie scolding him and telling him he shouldn’t even be practicing that spell around people unless he wants somebody to get hurt. 

MG spills a few drinks when her mother suddenly speaks, every student in the dining hall whipping their heads to look at her. Everyone is restless, ready to go to their dormitories. 

“I know you all are tired and want to go back to your dorms.” She starts, a silence falling over the hall as they all stare at their new headmaster. After glancing at a few of the students around her, Josie thinks it’s safe to assume that they had forgotten Caroline was assigned with the position over the summer. 

“I just have one more announcement before you guys go,” She smiles, and Josie can’t help but think that her mother looks small at the end of the hall. “We planned on having visitors this school year, but due to unseen circumstances, their presence is delayed. That being said, do not be alarmed when you see them tomorrow morning.” 

They’re released after that, and before anybody can hold her back, Josie makes her way to the headmaster’s office, trusting that her mom will be there waiting for her. Once Josie reaches the Gargoyle, she mutters the password as she yanks Penelope’s tie off, shoving it into her pocket. She’s stomping up the stairs into the office when she trips on the last one, nearly knocking her mother over. 

“Josie!” She exclaims, helping her up. Josie dusts off her robes, her annoyance at Penelope creeping back in. “I wasn’t expecting you here.” 

“Hi, mom…” Josie answers, in awe as she takes in her surroundings. She’s never been in the headmaster’s- headmistress’s office before, but she knows for a fact that her mother has not owned anything in the room. When she seems the map her mother has across the room, Josie remembers one of the reasons why she came. “Are we really having other schools visit us this year?” 

Her mother’s smile falls at her question, and she sighs tiredly. “I tried to argue against it, but before Vardemus stepped down, big plans were made for this year and I… I couldn’t change them, Josie, I’m sorry.” 

“Why are they coming here? Which schools?” 

“Durmstrang and Beauxbatons,” Her mom says, perking back up at the mention, grabbing Josie’s hand and dragging her over to the map. “See? The map shows how close they are to us. They’ll be here by morning.” 

“Do  _ you  _ want them here?” 

“No, Josie, but I couldn’t just kick them out-”

“But you’re the headmaster,” Josie argues. “It’s Lizzie and I’s last year here, it’s  _ your  _ first year, it’s not fair that you have to go through with Headmaster Vardemus’ plans for this year.” 

“Honey, look, I attended this school years ago when I was your age, and I never thought I’d come back as the headmaster. I haven’t even been a professor here, you know how surprised I was when I got the call from Vardemus. The least I can do is make sure this plan goes through.” 

Josie sighs, thinking back to how crazy her mother had been during the summer, meeting with Vardemus and the professors to help her get ready for the position, how Vardemus had seemed to completely trust her mom. 

“I know it’s a lot of work, but I’ll adjust,” her mother promises, “Plus, I like the sound of Headmaster Forbes, don’t you?” 

Josie smiles at that, “I think it sounds great, mom.” 

There’s a few moments of silence, “Are you ever gonna tell me why those schools are visiting us this year?” 

Her mother just smirks, and Josie regrets asking the question as her mother shoots a question back at her, “Are you ever going to tell me about that girl you’ve been seeing?” 

“I’m not seeing anybody!” Josie groans, pushing Caroline’s shoulder, although the words fall heavy as she thinks about Penelope. 

“Sure, okay, Josie,” Caroline laughs, “You were clearly moping around all summer over a girl, did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” 

“What makes you think it’s a girl?” Josie grumbles. 

“You don’t mope around with boys, you complain about them. Remember when you dated Eric?”

Josie pretends to gag, “Don’t remind, mom. I should go, make sure Lizzie’s not scaring the first years.”

Caroline shrugs, “That’s her job, they’ll behave once she does,” she replies as Josie goes to leave, “Don’t think I forgot about the girl,” Caroline calls as Josie starts down the steps, “I expect to meet her soon!” 

“You’re not meeting anybody soon, Mom! There is no gi- oh, Professor Tig!” Josie exclaims as she collides into another body. Professor Tig must have whispered the password the same time Josie started down the stairs, or else her and her mother would have been alerted of her presence.

“I see you and Headmaster Forbes are getting comfortable,” Professor Tig comments with a kind smile, “Hopefully I’ll see you in class this week, Josie.” 

“You will,” Josie promises, ducking her head as she passes the older woman, feeling bad for having run into her, “Sorry for running into you, Professor Tig.” 

The older woman laughs, “It’s alright, Josie. You should be heading back, no?” 

Josie nods and assures her that she was on her way to the Gryffindor Common room, and awkwardly bids her a good night before running off, hoping to not run into any more Professors on her way back. 

By the time she tells the Fat Lady the password, and makes her way to her dorm, Lizzie is already passed out in one of the beds, the other three abandoned by their roommates. Josie changes into her pajamas, too tired to catch up with the rest of her friends, and falls asleep quickly. 

Her first day back at Hogwarts passes by in a blur, her and most of her peers spending their classes distracted by the arrival of the other two schools. They haven’t been into the castle yet, but everyone can see the Durmstrang boat. Many more rumors than Josie can count start, all of them basically stating that the three schools are unifying and becoming one school, which only causes everyone to be on edge as they await for the announcement during dinner. 

The dining hall is much more crowded and stuffy that night, them watching as the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students walk in, doing performances that have students clapping and cheering. 

Her mother introduced the schools and their headmasters, of course. Josie can’t help but think that her mother deserves to be headmaster more than anyone as she continues to talk, having the attention of everyone on her. Headmaster Vardemus was a respected man, but he could only hold their attention for so long. 

“Now, I know all of you have been wondering what could possibly bring our schools together like this,” Caroline says as two professors bring out a cloaked object. Josie’s heart drops when she notices that it’s most likely a goblet. She’s read up on major wizard events to know there’s only one object that it could possibly be. 

“This year things will be different,” She says, “This year we’ll be focusing on what our schools represent more than we ever had before. We’ll fight to support them, and help the peers around you achieve things they may have thought impossible. This year, we have the honor of hosting the Triwizard Tournament!” 

The hall gasps, but it doesn’t phase Caroline as she continues, “Eternal glory awaits the student who wins the Tournament, but in order to win, you must survive three very dangerous tasks,” The cloak flies off the cup, and Josie can see her mother smile, even from here. “The winner will have the honor of being the owner of the Triwizard Cup.”

Josie swallows roughly, her mother’s voice fading out as she stares at the Triwizard Cup, sitting on the table at the front of the hall, for the whole room to see. 

She can’t help but feel like this year is going to go terribly wrong. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I had the weirdest dream last night. For context, I've been watching criminal minds with my mom when she comes home from work. So we watched a few episodes last night, and i had a dream that i was a part of the team and worked with them to help with the case. THEN I went "investigating" but my deaf ass could not hear shit, nearly got killed, and JJ saved me. it was so fucking weird i can not believe it. 
> 
> So i woke up today after this dream, went on with my day, and now I'm updating again due to quarantine boredom. (Mostly due to that weird ass dream I had).
> 
> If you read all of that, you're a real star. I was shooketh to the amount of love that the first chapter of this fic got, so i hope you enjoy this chapter as well. I've also made a twitter dedicated to my real loves, Taylor Swift and Posie. so if you want to yell at/with me, find me on twitter @afterglowposie

Tension runs high after her mother announces what Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be doing at Hogwarts that year. They had spent hours in the dining hall that night, first her mother introducing the Triwizard Cup and the other headmasters, then, the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Headmasters gave their own speeches. Most of the time was spent with the three of them putting emphasis on why it was such a big event, although it didn’t need to be explained to most of the students in the room. 

Most of them have heard stories of the Triwizard Tournament, how there have been students who’ve died trying to bring pride to their school. How there’s been students that have died for simply wanting to witness one of the events, only to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Eventually, they introduce the Goblet of Fire, putting an Age Line around it to prevent anyone younger than seventeen from putting their name in- a newer rule, they’re told.

Josie finds all the talks of the Tournament annoying already, and the Goblet of Fire has only been sitting in the middle of the dining hall for two days. It stays there until the end of the week, allowing a sufficient amount of time for anyone who wants to enter their name to do so. 

Almost all of the older students skip class, waiting in the hall to see who puts their names in. Josie’s dragged to the hall with her friends, watching as Lizzie, Hope, MG, and Rafael all decide to put in their names. Josie’s watching as her friends talk among themselves, already arguing over who will be chosen. She watches as Penelope walks in, ignoring the way her stomach immediately starts doing flips when she sees the Slytherin. 

Penelope’s with a group of other Slytherin’s, all of them looking far too confident in themselves as they scribble their names on slips of papers and put them into the Goblet. Josie nearly trips over MG’s foot when she notices that Penelope is still wearing Josie’s Gryffindor tie, the fabric hanging around her neck loosely. Josie’s torn between demanding that Penelope returns it, or from pulling Penelope into the nearest empty room. 

Penelope puts her name in last, ignoring the excited cheers she gets from her friends, staring at Josie. Josie doesn’t get the way Penelope looks at her whenever she notices Josie’s in the room, but Josie can’t help but feel safe under the gaze of soft green eyes. 

Even when Penelope approaches their group, “Did you put your name in, Mikaelson?” 

Hope sighs, “Of course I did. What made you put yours in?” 

Penelope shrugs, looking over Hope’s shoulder at Josie, “I like a challenge, you know that.” 

Penelope gets dragged away by one of her friends after that, Lizzie grumbling next to Josie, “I can’t stand her.” 

On any normal day, Josie would agree with her sister but Penelope’s presence didn’t annoy her in the way it usually does. If anything, Josie was already missing the other witch’s presence, but she would never admit that out loud, much less to Lizzie, of all people. 

“C’mon,” Josie replies, shaking herself out of the stupor Penelope’s presence had put her in, “We have class in a few minutes.” She tugs on Lizzie’s arm, even though she’s well aware of the fact that Lizzie is lucky enough to have a free slot with her classes today. 

As they’re leaving, the two of them pass a group of Durmstrang students, mostly men, and Lizzie doesn’t even attempt to hide the fact that she’s ogling at them. Josie can’t help but roll her eyes, because  _ sure _ , a few of them are definitely attractive, but why look at them when she goes to school with Penelope Park?

“Okay, Jo, I know you have Chemistry of Magic or some shit, but I don’t have a class right now, and I should really start getting to know our competition…”

“What? Lizzie, no!” 

Lizzie skips off to the Durmstrang group they just passed, ignoring Josie’s protests. With a sigh, Josie makes way towards the Divination room. She’s heard mixed things about the class, but figured it couldn’t hurt to take it as her elective for the semester, seeing that she’s nearly done. It can’t be that bad, can it?

As she rounds a corner, she realizes that she’s caught up to Penelope, who is no longer with her friends. It’s clear that Josie has been assigned to the same Divination class as Penelope. Of  _ course.  _ Josie’s previous thoughts about Penelope fly to the front of her mind, and yanking Penelope into an empty room seems like a lot of fun right now.

It takes all of Josie’s willpower to not do so, “Hey!” She calls after Penelope, causing the shorter girl to stop in her tracks and spin on her heels, breaking into a smug grin once she sees Josie. “That’s mine.” Josie says, gesturing to her tie. She doesn’t care what Penelope says, or does, but she’s getting her tie back- no matter how ridiculous it seems. 

“What, this?” Penelope asks, twirling the fabric around her finger. “I’m pretty sure this belongs to me now.” 

They’re separated, but Josie closes some of the distance between them. She hasn’t stopped to think why she’s getting so worked up over a tie. She’s been a student at Hogwarts for seven years, she certainly has enough to make up for the one Penelope has stolen. There’s just something about Penelope wearing it that pushes her buttons.

“Just give it back, Penelope.” 

Penelope tilts her head, like she’s not bothered at all. “Where’s mine?” Penelope asks as Josie takes another step closer, “You know, I think you look better in it.” 

“W-what?” Josie splutters uselessly. 

“C’mon. Slytherin clearly suits you more than Gryffindor does. You should wear it more often.” 

Josie rolls her eyes, “People would think we’re together if I did that.” 

Josie can see Penelope crack a bit under the comment, but she covers it up quickly. Penelope steps closer- closer than Josie would have dared to, and Josie can see the few golden flecks in Penelope’s green eyes, the way they look at her lips before meeting her eyes. 

“Take it back if you want it so much,” Penelope whispers, but Josie knows it’s a challenge. “Take whatever you want.” 

Josie stares. She doesn’t think she’ll ever understand the girl in front of her, no matter how hard she tries. The only thing that Josie understands about this is that they’re complicated and messy. Josie’s never been so careless before, until she’s met Penelope. Even though they try, they don’t mix well. She doesn’t think that they ever will. 

Penelope is dangerously close, and Josie’s aching to reach out to hold her hand, or even hug the girl in front of her- it’s a new feeling that only makes Josie more confused and frustrated she swallows, shoving the feeling down, telling herself that it means nothing. 

She can smell Penelope’s expensive perfume, can see the way Penelope’s seems to be hesitating as well. All Josie has to do is lean a little lower, gather a little courage and take what she really wants. 

“I have to get to class.” Josie grumbles, pushing past Penelope, ignoring the way Penelope’s laugh echoes in the empty hall.

Josie’s half thought-out plan to get away from Penelope only ends up biting her in the ass. She shows up to her Divination class a few minutes late, trying to catch her breath after climbing up all those stairs to the top of the tower. She’s aware of the fact that Penelope is behind her, but Josie tells herself if she doesn’t look back, it’ll be as if she’s not even there. 

All eyes land on the two of them when the door flies open, Professor Simmons in the middle of his introduction. Josie’s eyes fall onto the only two empty seats in the class, and when she realizes that they’re next to each other, she wishes that she had never let her mother talk her into signing up for this class. 

Josie ignores the stares as she sits down, Penelope finally adjusting her tie. The two of them sit at a crowded table, their knees pressed together. Josie’s grateful that she’s near a window, because between climbing all those flights of stairs and being crammed next to Penelope, she’s starting to feel hot. 

“Divination is a very hard subject,” Professor Simmons explains, “There’s only so much within this subject that your textbooks and I can teach you. If you want to succeed in this class, you need to be open to all possibilities…”

The class stares at him blankly, and he looks like he regrets coming in today. “The point of this class is to learn about possibly knowing what the future holds, but before we can think about that, we need to focus on a few problems at hand. All of you are distracted by the Triwizard Tournament starting soon, and as exciting as it is, we can not allow it to distract from our learning. Today I’ll have you do a simple task that will help you focus on other distractions you may have, or even reveal distractions you didn’t even know were there. Now, pair up!” 

The two second years that sit across from Penelope and Josie immediately pair up at the instructions, both of them looking nervous at the idea of potentially pairing up with a seventh year. 

As much as Josie doesn’t want to pair up with Penelope, she much rather pair up with her over a second year. No offense. 

The task is simple. Much more simple than Josie had expected, considering that Professor Simmons hands out cups of tea, tells them to talk amongst themselves and drink. It’s easy, considering that one of the younger students at their table can’t stop talking about their summer break. Josie and Penelope share some amused glances as they tell stories animatedly. 

Once they’re all done drinking the tea, the room grows quiet. The task requires them to exchange cups and study the shape of tea leaves have gathered in. Josie makes no progress staring at Penelope’s cup, only finding a clump of leaves. She compares it to a few pictures in one of her textbooks, but no luck. There’s a few descriptions that are so vague, Josie thinks that whoever wrote the book had no idea what they were doing. 

Penelope is surprisingly quiet as she studies Josie’s cup and reads over her own textbook. She’s even writing down notes diligently, not getting frustrated with the assignment, unlike most of their peers around them- Josie included. 

Eventually Penelope slams her textbook shut, looks into Josie’s empty cup one more time before stating, “You have a love dilemma.” 

Josie laughs, “You’re getting that from a pile of leaves?” 

“Yes, they’ve been whispering into my ear for the past twenty minutes. We’re best friends now.”

“They’re just a pile of leaves, Penelope.” Josie replies, not bothering to hide her frustration. 

“Don’t get upset with me, it’s not my fault the leaves won’t speak to you.”

Professor Simmons decides then is the perfect time to check on their progress, asking Penelope what secrets of Josie’s she has managed to uncover. 

“Josie’s got a love dilemma, but she’s not doing so well with the information.” 

Professor Simmons looks like he’s trying not to laugh at Penelope’s answer as he takes a look into the cup, then glances at Josie. “Is that all?” He manages to ask with a straight face.

Penelope peers into the cup again for what must be the hundredth time, “Well, it seems she’s too afraid to admit her feelings.” 

“Very well. Ten points to Slytherin.” 

What the hell? Is he seriously giving  _ Penelope  _ ten points for looking at leaves and coming up with complete garbage? Josie kicks Penelope under the table when Penelope smirks, clearly proud of herself for bullshitting her way through the assignment.

“What about you, Miss Saltzman? Did you find anything in Miss Park’s leaves?” 

“No.” Josie mumbles sheepishly. 

“Mhm. Let me take a look.”

He takes the cup, thankfully. Josie’s sure if she had to look into it again, she would just end up breaking it out of frustration. He takes a bit longer studying Penelope’s cup than he did with Josie’s, before handing it back to Josie. He encourages her to look again, and she does. 

“Penelope’s dealing with unrequited feelings.” Josie blurts, not sure where the confidence in her answer has come from, but Professor Simmons looks satisfied with her answer. Proud, even. 

“Good job, Miss Saltzman. Fifteen points to Gryffindor.”

He walks away after that, and Penelope stares at her, clearly appalled- although Josie’s not sure if it’s over the reading of her leaves, or the fact that Josie was just rewarded more points than her. 

Josie has to hide her laugh at the way Penelope stares at her, the Slytherin looking like she regrets taking the class- and it’s only their first day. How will they survive a semester together? 

“That’s not true.” Penelope states eventually, very matter-of-factly as she leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. 

“Don’t get upset with me,” Josie mirrors, “It’s what the leaves told me.” 

“Let me see my cup, you read it wrong.” 

Josie reaches for the cup before Penelope can take it, holding it out of the girl’s reach. 

“Maybe if you weren’t so arrogant all the time, you wouldn’t be dealing with unrequited feelings.” 

“Maybe if you weren’t so stubborn, you’d-” Penelope huffs, practically leaping out of her seat as she reaches for the cup. Penelope presses against her, although it doesn’t really help her get any closer to her goal, it distracts Josie as their foreheads collide roughly. 

The collision does nothing to stop their fighting, although Josie’s now aware that she can just lean down and kiss Penelope- is she really thinking about  _ kissing _ her right now? In the middle of a full classroom? 

“Girls!” Professor Simmon’s voice booms suddenly, causing the both of them to look at him, frozen on the spot. Penelope moves again first,  _ barely,  _ but it’s enough for her to accidentally knock the cup out of Josie’s hand. The cup shatters when it collides with the floor, and Josie pushes Penelope off of her. Could her day get any worse? It’s only her  _ first  _ day back, and Penelope has managed to get on her nerves every second, as if her life depends on it. 

“Girls, that is enough! Do not make me assign you detention.” 

The two kids sitting across from them look terrified at their scuffle, and Josie can see some of the amused look the older students have. She rubs her forehead where it hurts, refraining from mumbling something along the lines of,  _ It’s Penelope’s fault _ or  _ Penelope started it, Professor.  _

She doesn’t, because she’s not twelve anymore. Class is dismissed, Josie and Penelope staying behind to clean up the mess they had made. Josie gives Professor Simmons a sheepish apology, because she is sorry for causing a scene in the middle of his class, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by the whole ordeal. She wonders if he ever was as he bids the two of them a good day as they leave. 

Josie wants to walk back to the main floor alone, but Penelope makes that impossible. Josie only manages to go down fifteen steps when Penelope stops her. 

There’s a red spot on her forehead from earlier, Penelope’s robe is crooked, and her shirt is starting to become untucked from her pants. If it were anybody else, Josie would have thought they’re a mess, but the look on Penelope is unconventionally attractive- which is a whole different story.

Penelope’s talking, mentioning something about what had just happened in class, but Josie can only think about their interaction earlier. 

_ Take whatever you want. _

Josie finds herself fixing Penelope’s robe, much to the shorter girl’s confusion, and kisses her. Kisses her the way she knows makes Penelope want more. She rests one of her hands on the back of Penelope’s neck, pulling her into another one when Penelope tries to pull away. 

Penelope kisses her back after that, with such eagerness that makes Josie wonder if Penelope has been waiting for it to happen. Josie stumbles a bit on one of the stairs, causing Penelope’s back to slam against the wall. 

It’s when Penelope’s lips travel to Josie’s jaw when Josie jumps back, ignoring the concern in Penelope’s eyes. She shouldn’t be kissing Penelope on the stairs when anybody can easily walk into them. She shouldn’t even be  _ kissing  _ her to begin with.

“I have to go.” Josie rushes out, starting down the stairs, leaving Penelope behind without any other explanation. 

When she finally reaches the bottom of the stairs, she collides into Lizzie, who’s struggling to fix her robe.

“Lizzie!”

“Josie!”

“I… Hi!” Lizzie tells her, and Josie just watches as Lizzie continues to struggle with her robe. She wonders if her sister is aware that she has buttoned her shirt back up incorrectly, the buttons crooked.

Josie looks over Lizzie again, “... Where were you…?” 

“I, uh, I was only talking to a few of Durmstrang boys, and- Mom!” Lizzie yelps, pulling Josie away from the stairs. “Oh my god, she’s going to kill me…” 

“Lizzie, shut up.” Josie tells her sister, the sudden presence of her mother is slightly nerve-wracking, but Josie might as well get used to it. Her mother  _ is  _ the new headmistress after all. Her mother has never been particularly strict with her and Lizzie while growing up, but she certainly doesn’t like the idea of being caught by her after the way she had just kissed Penelope, and then there’s Lizzie's problem. The two of them have guilt written all over them, and being caught by their mom is the recipe for disaster. 

Surprisingly- given their terrible hiding spot, their mother walks right past them as she speaks to Professor Tig in a hushed whisper. Josie can only assume it’s about the Triwizard Tournament, which, honestly, is the least of her worries right now. 

She just kissed Penelope Park. After she had spent all night telling herself that she’d never kiss her again. Josie still hasn’t decoded why Penelope Park is so damn irresistible, and she swears that she’s never going to figure it out. 

Her and Lizzie watch as their mother walks past them and takes a right turn- the turn to her office. Lizzie sighs in relief, “Okay, I would just like to say that I don’t think-”

“Lizzie. You put your name in the goblet, right?” 

Lizzie smacks Josie’s arm, “Shush, mom will kill me when she finds out!” 

“I think she’ll be more upset over the boy you were  _ talking  _ to.” 

“Can we talk about this later? I’m starving.” 

The two of them end up walking to the dining hall for lunch instead of bickering some more, and on the way there, Josie nearly snaps her wand in half when Lizzie starts to tell her about how amazing and charming the Durmstrang boys are, and one named Sebastian- in too much detail that Josie doesn’t care for. 

When they reach the dining hall, it’s filled with more students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons than Hogwarts students, and the sight is slightly unnerving. She ends up wedged between MG and Lizzie as she eats, feeling relieved and disappointed- a very confusing mix of feelings- when she doesn’t find Penelope at the Slytherin table. 

It’s not until after lunch when Josie sees Penelope again. The Slytherin is surrounded by a mix of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang girls, all of them look excited to be in her presence. 

It’s fine. Penelope can talk to other girls. It’s not a big idea, Josie talks to other girls all the time, but they certainly don’t laugh the way those girls do when Penelope says something. And they certainly don’t put their hand on her shoulder, only for it to fall onto her arm. 

Okay, so maybe they’re flirting a little bit. Josie can handle that- flirting is natural, right? Besides, when has Penelope  _ not  _ flirted with somebody? One of the Beauxbaton girls, the same one who put her hand on Penelope’s arm, reaches up to straighten out her-  _ Josie’s  _ tie. 

“ _ Ignalusa.”  _

Josie doesn’t think about the spell flying past her lips, and she turns before she can watch the aftermath, but she can hear the sudden sound of overlapping chatter and-

“Miss Saltzman,” Professor Williams stops her from getting any further, “I’m assuming that fire spell you just cast means you want to join Miss Park for detention later?” 

“I…” Josie doesn’t have an answer for him, but finds herself wondering when Penelope had gotten herself into trouble. 

“Detention after class, Miss Saltzman. Meet me outside my classroom.” He disappears after that, and Josie groans in frustration. 

Penelope Park really is going to be the death of her.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please enjoy some gay content today

Josie spends the rest of her day dreading detention- mostly because she knows Penelope will be there. She’s gotten detention a handful of times, from when she’s messed around with Lizzie and MG, but she’s never dealt with the nightmare that is Penelope Park during the trying time. 

Lizzie makes a bigger deal about Josie’s detention than Josie does, wondering if they can even get detention since they’re the headmistress’ daughters. Josie doesn’t tell Lizzie the important fact: She has detention with Penelope. Lizzie would just find some grand excuse to get Josie out of detention, or find a way to get herself into the  _ same  _ detention, and Josie’s not so sure she can spend that much time with Lizzie and Penelope in the same room. That would just make her a sitting duck. 

Eventually, after her Apparition class and nearly losing her arm, she sulks on her way to Professor Williams classroom, surprised to see him already talking to Penelope. She had thought that the other girl would either show up late, or not at all. Josie can see the damage her fire spell had done, Penelope’s hair several inches shorter. The fact doesn’t seem to bother the girl at all. Does she not get phased by anything? 

Professor Williams looks a bit sorry for them as he explains that he can’t stay and watch them, given that he has a meeting with the other professors and the headmistress, but he makes it clear that if they try to leave before their detention is over, they’ll just get sucked back into another one. 

He opens the door to his classroom, and the place is littered with suits of armor, “They need to be polished,” he explains and holds his hand out, “Wands, please.” 

“But that’s-” 

“Professor, it’ll take us ho-” 

“Wands.” He insists. The two girls surrender their wands with matching frowns, “I’ll return them once the meeting is over and you’ll be free to leave.” He leaves the two of them in the room after that, and the two of them are left standing dumbly. Josie waits for Penelope to say something, since she usually speaks, but it never comes. Instead, they end up at two different tables, drowning in an awkward silence as they start polishing all of the silver in front of them. 

After fifteen minutes or so, Penelope gets up from her chair suddenly, scraping on the floor obnoxiously as she does so. She sits in the empty chair next to Josie wordlessly, their legs pressing together. Josie tries to move away, but the desk is small and offers no personal space. 

“I finally met the new headmaster, she’s kind of hot.” 

Josie gags, not expecting the comment about her  _ mother  _ of all people. And it just  _ has  _ to come from Penelope? Is she ever going to catch a break? She blames her gagging on the bottle of polish when Penelope raises her eyebrow questioningly. 

“I’m serious, I was expecting some old nerd like Vardemus again, but she’s young-” 

_ And hot, I get it.  _

“Headmistress.” 

“What?” 

“You called her the headmaster. It’s Headmistress Forbes. Besides, you shouldn’t be talking about her like that, she’s the  _ headmistress _ . It’s weird.” 

“What’s weird is that she’s barely forty and is the headmistress. Since when did we not want weird, old, white men running this school? Aren’t you curious as to why they chose her to replace Vardemus? She must’ve been very impressive.” 

“She’s a good witch.” 

“You seem confident, do you know her?” 

“I’ve met her a handful of times,” Josie lies, “She’s friends with my father.” 

Penelope hums, as if she already knows that Josie won’t offer her any more information. They start working in silence again, their elbows occasionally knocking into each other as they work. Josie pauses for a few seconds, watching as Penelope works, and realizes the girl is a lefty. No wonder they keep hitting each other. It’s a strange moment- Josie learning something so simple about Penelope after knowing the girl for years. 

It’s a good moment too, without them bickering over anything or pushing the other against the nearest surface, but all good things must come to an end. 

“What did you do to land into detention?” Penelope asks innocently, still busying herself with the task at hand. Josie’s not sure what to make of the question- no, she  _ knows  _ it’s a trap, but she’s not about to give Penelope the satisfaction of falling for it. When Josie decides she’s not going to answer at all, Penelope speaks again, “Thanks for burning it off, it gave me the extra push I really needed. I didn’t realize I could rock a lob until-”

Does this girl ever shut up? 

“I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you!” Josie snaps, most of the frustration and anger she’s been trying to hide spills out, and Penelope scoffs.

“You’re the one who burned my hair!” 

“I… Because you were...” Josie doesn’t have an argument for that, ignoring the way Penelope scoots closer, and the way Josie’s not opposed to the idea of Penelope invading her personal space. 

“Okay, I’ll stop flirting with the Beauxbaton girls if it really bothers you,” Penelope tells her quietly, “Besides, if I kept doing it, I’m sure I’ll end up bald.”

“It was a one time thing,” Josie defends, dropping the towel and polish in her hands, crossing her arms stubbornly. “A momentary lapse of judgment.” 

Josie’s telling herself that she doesn’t need to hide any more fire spells up her sleeves, and looking back on the whole situation, Josie knows that she was stupid to be jealous. It’s not like Penelope would actually get involved with them, right? They’ve never talked about potentially seeing other people during their whole…  _ whatever  _ it is, and if Josie was honest, she doesn’t want to see anybody else. Besides, it’s not like any of those girls matter. They’ll be gone once the tournament is over, and the school year will end, and her and Penelope will go their separate ways. 

Penelope just smiles, a big bright one, that just makes Josie want to kiss it away, if she’s honest, she’s still a little annoyed at the Slytherin, but she can only stay annoyed for so long. 

Like most of their time together, Josie’s not sure who starts it, but they start kissing and Penelope’s quick to pull Josie into her lap. It’s rough and needy, hands pulling at clothes, pulling the other closer, and biting lips. 

They fall to the floor with a crash, both of them wincing at the sound, both freezing for a few moments for somebody to check on the sound. Nobody comes by, and they start kissing again. This must be a new record- Josie doesn’t think she’s ever kissed Penelope on two separate occasions during the day. 

Professor Williams can walk back in at any second, but before Josie can voice her concerns, Penelope’s doing that thing with her lips against Josie’s collarbone, causing any logical thought to fly out the window. Penelope presses her thigh between Josie’s, and Josie starts rolling her hips slowly, desperate to find any friction. She can’t help the small gasps she lets out when she does. Penelope’s hands grip her hips, kissing Josie again as Josie starts grinding down slowly. 

“ _ Fuck,”  _ Josie breathes out when she starts grinding faster, with the encouragement of Penelope whispering into her ear. Penelope’s hands wander everywhere, like she can’t make up her mind where to touch Josie. They go from her hips to her hair, to under her shirt. 

Josie pulls back when Penelope bites on her bottom lip, particularly hard. They both stare at each other, chests heaving as they try to catch their breath. 

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” Penelope asks, smirking. 

“No.” Josie answers, and Penelope laughs, her hand on the back of Josie’s neck as she pulls her in for another kiss. Josie unbuttons Penelope’s pants, surprised to feel Penelope’s wetness through her panties. Soft lips turn into firm tongue and sharp teeth that nip at her jaw, and Penelope whines when Josie rolls her hips again. 

“Shit,” Penelope breathes out against Josie’s jaw, “Josie, please.” The breathy little whine against her ear has Josie smirking as Penelope’s fingers push harder into her skin, leaving little indentations on her skin. Penelope starts to shift, and Josie grips her hip roughly. 

“Don’t move.” Josie whispers into her ear, her panting changing from rapid little breaths to longer whines. Penelope stops, almost frozen in the spot as Josie’s hips continue to roll and grind, looking for a new angle that makes her call Penelope’s name, one that manages to hit the spot she wants in the right way. 

Penelope doesn’t listen, and Josie’s burying her face into Penelope’s shoulder as she bucks her hips down faster, harder, her eyes shut as she reels in the sensations of Penelope’s reciprocated efforts. Penelope matches her stroke for stroke, and the little broken sounds Penelope makes only encourages Josie. 

Penelope’s breathing hitches at one particular moment, a break from all the different whines she was making before as she squirms under Josie, but she doesn’t say anything, only sliding her hand underneath Josie’s shirt and bra, fingers immediately going for her nipple, stroking and pinching it.

Josie moans, pressing impossibly closer to Penelope as she does. She pushes Penelope’s panties aside, pushes two fingers inside of her, moving them until Penelope’s rocking up against her, “Fuck, Jos.” 

Josie can’t help but laugh at the way Penelope mumbles out her name as Penelope moans again. 

“Shit, Pen.” Josie whimpers needily, “I- I’m almost-” 

Penelope’s fingers slide around her neck again, cradling the back of her head, pulling her into a surprisingly soft kiss, even as Josie’s hips still grind down hard. Penelope kisses her like that for a few moments, only pulling away when her breath hitches in her throat as Josie presses her thumb against her clit. 

“It’s okay.” 

“But you’re-” 

“It’s okay,” Penelope assures. “I’m not that far behind.”

Josie shuts up then, only offering a feeble nod against Penelope’s shoulder. She presses a few rough kisses against her neck, “Oh, fuck.” Josie doesn’t need much, just a little more. Grind a little more firmly, a little more friction. She eventually ends up muffling the sounds she makes against Penelope’s shoulder as she reaches her climax. 

She wastes no time to focus on Penelope after, pressing a kiss below her ear before pulling away as she moves her fingers faster, and Penelope’s gasps grow more frequent. All Josie can think is that she needs to get Penelope somewhere private, so she can do whatever she wants with the girl beneath her, but it’s already too late. 

Josie watches as she continues to touch Penelope, “Fuck.” Penelope whispers, as she arches her back, eyes open now. Penelope’s fingers are digging into her skin again, and Penelope moans again. Josie raises her head, looking over at the closed door, suddenly remembering that somebody can walk in. Josie really doesn’t want to be caught with her hand down Penelope’s pants simply because the other girl can’t be quiet. 

“Be quiet.” Josie demands. 

“Jesus, I’m trying,” Penelope tells her, her eyes fluttering shut and her hips rolling against Josie’s hand. “Josie.” She moans. Josie curls her fingers, circling Penelope’s clit again. Her gasps grow louder, and Josie distracts her with a kiss. She waits as Penelope comes, feels her thighs clamp around her hand. A few moments pass, and eventually Josie rolls off, both of them laying on the ground, staring at the ceiling as they try to catch their breath.

“That was unexpected,” Penelope comments, “Definitely the best detention I've had.” 

Josie rolls her eyes, “Whatever.” 

Penelope looks over at her, and Josie tries her best to resist the way she wants to look over at the girl next to her, stare into her green eyes for a few hours like she’s in some romance movie. Penelope’s fingers find the inside of Josie’s wrist, as if she’s searching out Josie’s hand. Josie finds herself moving her hand away before Penelope can find it. 

“Did you put your name in the Goblet?” Penelope asks.

Josie scoffs at the idea. Her name in the Goblet of Fire? Putting her name in hasn’t crossed her mind. If she was completely honest, she had forgotten about the whole thing over the past two days, despite the way their guests have clearly been clashing with them. Lizzie can’t seem to get along with a girl named Alyssa Chang, and Josie has been finding herself spending some time with Jade, a girl from Durmstrang. Josie’s been too busy with classes and Penelope to think about putting her name in.

Not to mention her mom is the headmistress Josie wouldn’t be surprised if her mother had somehow casted a spell on the Goblet so she can see all of the names put in. If that were the case, she’ll probably be scolding Lizzie within the next few days, and Josie would only be added. 

“Why would I?”

“You’re a powerful witch. Why not? The chances of one of us getting chosen are slim, anyways.”

“I haven’t thought about putting my name in,” Josie lies, “Besides, it’s not like I would be able to win the tournament or anything.” 

Penelope laughs. “You were able to perform a corporeal patronus when we were thirteen, and you’re one of the smartest witches our age. What makes you think you can’t win it?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you want to put your name in, you should,” Penelope encourages, “You’re just as powerful as Mikaelson, I think you’d be fine if your name got picked.” 

Josie’s not so sure why Penelope sounds so confident in her, but it’s like Penelope knows that Josie has spent the past night staring at her ceiling and wondering if she should. She’s spent all night weighing her options. If her name doesn’t get chosen, nobody but her will ever know she’s put her name in. Maybe she’ll feel a bit of disappointment when her name isn’t called, but she’ll get over it. But if her name  _ is  _ picked? Her mother will scold her for a good few hours, but there won’t be anything she can do to prevent Josie from participating. She’ll have the attention of thousands of people- people who will start watching her every move and second-guess her every step of the way. Not to mention the three events. She has no idea what any of them will consist of, but she knows they won’t be easy. 

“Too bad I haven’t put my name in.” 

“Well, you have until Friday morning.” Penelope reminds her, voice soft. 

Suddenly the air between them feels different, and Josie gets to her feet before she can send herself down spiraling thoughts of what it could possibly mean. She helps Penelope get to her feet, and finds herself tucking a strand of hair behind Penelope’s ear. She has to admit, the new haircut does look good on Penelope, but she’s always been a sucker for Penelope’s long hair. 

Josie’s just about to start working again when Professor Williams enters the room, the two of them frozen. Josie can’t meet his eyes, and she starts brushing the dust off her pants and her robes. He seems surprised that the two of them haven’t killed each other yet, giving them a once over. Josie wonders if it’s obvious what events occured while he was gone. 

If it is, he doesn’t scold them, and Josie’s thankful because that would be… Well. Awkward. She knows they haven’t made much progress in the task he had given them, but when he observes the pieces they did manage to polish, it’s clear that they did more than he had expected. 

“Okay, ladies,” He tells them, holding their wands out, “Don’t get yourselves into any more trouble, it’s your last year. Let’s make it a good one, okay?” 

The two of them nod, and grab their wands. Professor Williams is quick to leave, and Josie is left with Penelope. The two of them share an awkward look before Josie decides that it’s time for her to leave, leaving Penelope alone in the room. 

She makes it to the Gryffindor Common Room without running into anybody, thankfully. She’s not so sure what she would do if she ran into anybody. She’s sure that people can see the guilt on her a mile away. When she gets to her room, she’s surprised to see Lizzie with MG and Rafael, the three of them drinking Firewhiskey. 

The three of them clearly had a bit to drink while she was gone, based on the way they all look at her and break into nearly identical smiles. Rafael scoops her into a hug, one long overdue in Josie’s opinion. She hasn’t talked to him since last school year, the few times she’s seen him in the past few days have been in passing and she hasn’t been able to catch up with him. 

“Hey, Raf,” Josie says, feeling better now that she’s been hugged by him. She’s a little surprised when he kisses the top of her head. It’s new, but Josie isn’t bothered by it. They’ve been friends for what? Two years now? “How have you been?” 

“I’m doing good,” He replies, “What about you? I heard you’ve been getting into trouble without me?” 

Josie shrugs out of the hug, taking her tie and robe off, “Just detention, not a big deal. It could have been worse, I could’ve had it for the whole week.” 

“What did you even do?” He asks, and the question sparks MG and Lizzie’s interest. 

“Yeah, Josie,” Lizzie demands, pointing the bottle of Firewhiskey in Josie’s direction. “What  _ did  _ you do? And does mom know about it?” 

“Nothing  _ bad,”  _ Josie defends, swiping the bottle out of Lizzie’s hand, pouring herself a small glass, “I did a spell and Professor Williams decided he didn’t like it.” She grumbles. 

“Yeah,” MG pipes up, “They’ve been watching us more carefully, you know. Because of the Tournament.” 

“That’s stupid,” Lizzie complains, and Josie downs her glass, ignoring the burn as she pours herself another one. Rafael is using her trunk as a seat, and she nudges him to scoot over so she can join him. “Why can’t they just focus on the Tournament? Most of us are almost almost done with school anyways.” 

Josie shrugs, but she stays silent. Everyone is talking about the tournament again, and Josie can’t help but feel annoyed. She wonders if the rest of them understand the severity of the tournament and how dangerous it can be. That people have died trying to win. Everyone seems to think it’s just fun and games. 

“They’re probably going to be looking for excuses to expel some of us.” The comment has both girls wacking MG on the arm. 

“Mom isn’t going to expel anybody unless they deserve it,” Josie defends, “Like some idiot who’s too young to put their name in the Goblet.” 

“Or us drinking Firewhiskey in the dorms.” MG replies cheekily. 

“We’d get three weeks of detention, not expelled. Mom loves us too much to do that.” 

The conversation takes a turn after that, MG telling them about his summer. The four of them are crowded in the dorm for another hour before Josie decides she wants some fresh air. Her statement has the rest of them scrambling to their feet and insisting that they want to leave as well. 

The four of them make too much noise for them to be out past curfew, deciding to make way towards the Astronomy tower. Josie watches as Lizzie and MG interact, and wonders how Lizzie is still oblivious to his crush on her, or if she’s just decided to ignore it. 

They reach the bottom of the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, and Lizzie glares at them, then decides that she doesn’t want to climb so many steps. It’s for the better anyways. Josie doesn’t think Lizzie or MG would make it up, much less back down the stairs after the amount of Firewhiskey they had earlier. 

The two then decide to leave her and Rafael to sneak into the kitchen for snacks instead. Halfway up the staircase, Josie decides that she’s too tired to walk the rest of the way up, and Rafael offers her a piggyback ride. 

She accepts the offer much faster than she usually would if she were sober, and smiles as he continues the way up. The stairs are old and rickety, but they don’t seem to bother Rafael, even after the amount he’s drank with them. 

“You smell good.” Josie mumbles into the fabric of his shirt.

“What?” 

“Like firewood.” She elaborates, and Rafael laughs. 

“Is that a good thing?” 

“Yeah.” 

He bounces up the last step, gently putting Josie down once he does. Josie’s been to the top of the Astronomy Tower a few times, but she always forgets how beautiful it seems to be. She could spend all day- or all night at the top of the tower, just enjoying the space. 

“Shit,” Rafael curses. “I forgot something, I’ll be right back.” 

Before Josie can stop him, he’s bounding back down the stairs. Josie’s not annoyed at his sudden disappearance, happy to have a few moments alone. 

“What brings you here?” 

Josie jumps at the voice, wondering how she’s missed Penelope’s presence before. Josie’s never seen Penelope in something other than the robes they’re required to wear, and she definitely stares a little more than acceptable when she realizes Penelope’s wearing shorts and a hoodie to protect her from the breeze. 

Josie wants to ask Penelope what she’s doing up here so late, but in the faint light of the moon, she can see Penelope’s haircut. Josie wasn’t very used to it a few hours ago, but now she decides that she likes it better- it seems to suit her better, anyways. 

“You know, I like the haircut.” Josie comments, instead of answering Penelope’s question. 

Penelope looks amused, “You’re drunk. It’s only Tuesday.” 

“You’re annoying,” Josie frowns, “Can’t you take a compliment?”

“Where’s your boyfriend?” 

Josie’s frown only deepens at Penelope’s question. If there wasn’t so much Firewhiskey in her system, she’d be more aware of the annoyance behind the question. She doesn’t  _ have  _ a boyfriend. She doesn’t even want one, besides, the only person Penelope saw her with was Rafael, before he ran back down the stairs like his life depended on it. 

“Rafael isn’t my boyfriend.” Josie tells her, but now she’s thinking about Rafael being her boyfriend. Do they really look and act like a couple? Josie only considers him as one of her best friends. She pauses. Does Penelope really think Josie would cheat on anybody? 

“He looked pretty cozy with you.” 

“He’s one of my best friends.” Josie defends. Surely Penelope’s heard of a friend instead a bunch of minions, right? 

“Josie!” Rafael calls, louder than he should. They’re all out after curfew, and getting caught wouldn’t be good for any of them- especially her and Rafael. They’d have a hard time explaining why they’ve clearly had too much Firewhiskey. “Sorry it took me so long, I couldn’t find it right away, and I almost ran into Filch…” 

Rafael trails off when he sees Penelope, stopping in his tracks as he glares at her. “What are you doing here?” He questions Penelope, and Josie rolls her eyes, placing her hand on his chest. She constantly forgets about the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, usually too caught up in trying to figure Penelope out to care for it. 

“Relax, Raf. It’s okay.” 

“I was just enjoying a nice, peaceful night outside until you two drunken idiots ruined it.” Penelope tells Rafael, and Rafael only grows more annoyed. 

It’s not like Penelope was lying, Josie and Rafael  _ did _ kind of ruin her time alone. On top of that, there’s plenty of other towers like the Astronomy Tower on the grounds. Sure, they may not be as tall and the view isn’t as nice, but they’ll suffice. It’s not like her and Rafael planned to have some romantic getaway at the top of a tower. They just wanted some fresh air. 

Rafael and Penelope stare at each other for some time, and Josie eventually just grabs Rafael by the arm, “Let’s go, there’s like five other towers we can go to,” As she starts pulling Rafael away, she can’t help but feel like she wants to kick him out and spend the night with Penelope instead, talking under the cool breeze and watching the horizon until the sun finishes rising.

“Bye, Penelope.” Josie says as they leave, the words feeling strange coming from her. She’s rarely said anything so simple to the other girl. 

Penelope still looks amused, and laughs a bit when Josie runs into the railing before disappearing down the stairs. Josie tries not to think about Penelope’s smile, but it’s branded into her mind as she continues to follow Rafael. 

He stops suddenly at the bottom of the stairs, turning around suddenly. “I got you this,” He says nervously, his smile bright. Josie finally notices the book in his hand, surprised that he has even gotten her something. “I know you really liked Care of Magical Creatures last year, and you were looking for a copy of Newt Scamander’s guide but couldn’t find it.” 

Josie takes the book from Rafael, the cover and pages all worn out, but Josie doesn’t mind at all. 

“Thanks, Raf,” She answers, taking the book from him. She flips through a few pages, but her mind goes back to Penelope and the Triwizard Tournament. “What do you think about the Tournament?” 

“I think it’s neat,” Rafael shrugs, “I put my name in with Hope, but I doubt I’ll get picked. Why?” 

Josie shrugs. “I think it’s stupid.” 

That’s a lie, but Rafael doesn’t seem to notice as he laughs at the comment, leading the two of them back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Once they reach the stairs to the girl’s dorms, Rafael bids her a goodnight with a hug.

Josie wakes up with a slight headache, and in all honesty, she had expected worse after the amount she drank last night. She glances over at Lizzie, who is still sleeping. Josie thinks about waking her up, but when she checks her watch, she realizes that it’s extremely early and that breakfast isn’t even available yet. 

Which means a few things. 

There’s hardly any students leaving their dorms now, and the halls aren’t littered with any students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. It also means that Josie’s safe to assume that most of the Professors are still sleeping, or are about to get ready for the day. 

Josie downs a cup of water before slipping out of bed, putting her robes on just in case she just happens to run into anybody else. She leaves the dorms, nobody aware of her presence, aside from the pictures . When she reaches the room, she hesitates. She glances around the room, even though she knows that it’s empty. 

Before she can change her mind, she writes her name on a piece of paper, takes a deep breath as she steps over the line guarding the Goblet. When she’s not magically thrown out of the room, she drops the paper into the Goblet. 

And practically runs before anybody can catch her.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lowkey forgot that this fic existed and started watching K-drama's. So if you were waiting for an update, I'm sorry that the wait was longer than usual. I think it's been like a week since I last updated, but idk. 
> 
> This chapter is in Penelope's pov to change it up a bit, with a dash of Henelope friendship so I hope that isn't a let down for y'all. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

“Jesus, Penelope, get your owl out of here!” 

Penelope grumbles incoherently, pushing Maya’s hand away from her face, pulling her pillow over her head. She  _ was  _ having a peaceful night’s sleep until Maya started screaming at her and yanking at her sheets to get her attention. 

She finally registers the sound of flapping wings as Maya groans. She cracks one of her eyes open to look at her second roommate- an unconscious Hope Mikaelson snoring like a chainsaw. Penelope tries to ignore the sounds she is suddenly aware of, and as Maya’s words finally register into her foggy mind, she shoots up, “There’s an  _ owl _ in here?” 

Her only response is the owl flying in her direction, Penelope barely able to duck out of the way. She has so many questions. How did an Owl manage to get into their dorm, of all places? The Slytherin’s common room and dorms are located the furthest away from the school, under the Great Lake. Also, what time is it? She’s starving.

Maya has given up at stopping the owl, and Penelope observes Maya’s corner of the room, clothes and papers thrown everywhere, an exasperated Maya sitting in the middle of the chaos. Penelope quickly realizes that Maya was correct, and that it is her owl, Emerson. God, Penelope always hated using the poor thing to send things, but her father insisted that she use him. If it were up to Penelope, she’d just let him be- it’s clear that he’s not like the other owls used to deliver letters and packages. 

“Emerson,” Penelope holds her arm out, and he lands on her arm calmly, as if he hasn’t been flying around the room for god knows how long and messing up Maya’s things. “Sorry about him, I have no idea how he got in here.”

Maya stares at Emerson, “You have a strange owl.” She decides on, although Penelope’s sure Maya wanted to scream at him some. Penelope sends her another apologetic look before helping Emerson settle on her bed.

She takes the letter from him, fingers tracing over the M seal. She can’t count how many times she’s told her father that he doesn’t need to send her stuff as the Minister of Magic, that he should send things to her as her  _ father _ , but he’s just as stubborn as she is, so they never get far. 

Penelope sighs as she opens the envelope, not sure what to expect from her father. He usually waits a few weeks before checking on her, and asks her how her grades are and if she’ll return home for the holidays. Nothing other than that. Occasionally he’ll tell her about work and some of the things that have happened to him before she reads them in the Daily Prophet. She prefers that he doesn’t write to her at all, because that just makes it easier for her to ignore him, but of  _ course  _ he insists on being in her life when she needs him the least.

Maya’s looking at her questionly, and Penelope rolls her eyes at the sixth year. Hope hadn’t told her that the younger girl is observant, “I forgot your father is the Minister,” Maya comments, although she doesn’t sound as impressed as most people are. “Most Slytherins would never shut up about it if he was their father.”

“He’s barely a father.” Penelope grumbles.

Maya’s quiet after that, but Penelope still can’t bring herself to open the folded piece of paper in her hands. She’s not sure if she wants to read her father’s words now. She had spent all summer without keeping in contact with him, and he had just hoped that she’d return to Hogwarts for her final year. 

If Penelope was honest, she wasn’t going to return to Hogwarts. She wasn’t even sure if she was going to return to Scotland, but she gave in. If she didn’t want to follow in her father’s footsteps, she  _ needs  _ her last year. She returned to take her NEWT’S, but with the Triwizard Tournament happening, she doesn’t think there will be any time for testing. 

Penelope glances over at Hope, wondering why her friend returned for her seventh year. The last time they spoke, Hope had no plans to return, but to spend more time with her family instead. Penelope knew that Hope had meant that most of that time would be spent with Hope and her Uncles looking for her father. 

“She missed you during the summer, you know,” Maya tells Penelope when she catches her looking at their sleeping roommate, “I mean, we  _ all  _ did, but Hope missed you a lot. Her family missed you, too.” 

“I had to take care of things.” 

“You could have checked in with Hope every once in a while, ever since her parents-” 

“I know,” Penelope snaps. “I didn’t mean to make her worry. I just needed space.” 

“Did you even think to tell Hope that before you disappeared like her father did?” 

Penelope sucks in a breath, trying her best to not yell at Maya. Yes, the three of them have been friends for years, and Penelope had no intentions of hurting Hope. She doesn’t get why Maya feels like she needs to butt in- Maya has no idea how close her and Hope are. 

“I did.” Penelope says stubbornly, but Maya gets the message. She rolls her eyes and goes back to finishing one of her assignments, careful not to wake up their sleeping roommate, using the light from her wand. 

Penelope wonders exactly how close Hope got with the Machado siblings while she was gone, because she had no idea that Hope had started dating that Hufflepuff, and had no idea that Hope and Maya were close enough to be roommates.

She huffs, telling herself it’s not her problem and that she should focus on her real problem: A letter from her father. 

_ Dear Penelope, _

_ I hope this letter finds you well and that you are adjusting to your final year quickly. I heard that Hogwarts has the honor of hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year. Will you be entering? I expect you to get good marks in all of your classes. I wish you luck in all of them. I hope to see or hear from you soon.  _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Tobias Park _

The note makes Penelope want to rip it up and pretend that it doesn’t exist. Her father has never truly worried about her. He likes to check in on her when he’s afraid that she’s done something to ruin his reputation. There was that time after a Quidditch game that she spent nearly two weeks in the infirmary, and he didn’t even bother to visit. He had only offered a letter and asked how she was healing. She’s learned to not send letters with much information back. Just something simple, like  _ Classes are fine, I have a Quidditch match next week. I’ll come home for Christmas.  _

He usually doesn’t answer when she sends one back, anyways. 

Penelope takes Emerson to the Owlery, surprised that Filch and that ridiculous cat of his aren’t roaming the halls and scolding her for being up too early. She stays in the Owlery for a while, mostly because Emerson refuses to leave, seeming to hate the idea of delivering Penelope’s short letter to her father. 

Eventually he leaves after some encouragement from Penelope, but not before he nearly bites Penelope’s finger off. By the time she leaves the Owlery, the halls are becoming crowded with students again. As she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she nearly knocks over a Durmstrang boy shoving his tongue down a Gryffindor student- Penelope chokes over nothing when she realizes that the Gryffindor is Lizzie, and she wonders if that means Josie’s spending time with the guy Penelope had saw her with last night. 

She sees Josie at the other end of the hall, next to the same guy from last night, both of them in their matching Gryffindor robes. Josie looks like she hasn’t gotten an ounce of sleep. They’re standing apart awkwardly, a sight that makes Penelope feel slightly better. Something must’ve happened between the two of them after Penelope saw them a few nights ago.

“Hey! Penelope!” Hope calls, jogging to catch up with her. 

Penelope wonders when Hope woke up and managed to clean up so nicely, because the last time Penelope saw her, she was still sleeping. “Hope. Morning.” Penelope greets, taking her eyes off Josie as Hope steps in front of her. 

“My Aunt Freya sent this to me, told me to give it to you.” 

Penelope eyes the package in Hope’s hands, “What is it?” 

Hope shrugs, “I didn’t open it, it’s for you.” 

Penelope sighs. She has met Hope’s family several times over the years- in fact, Penelope might even consider Hope one of her only true friends, considering all the years they’ve spent together while their families met up. Over the more recent years, Penelope and her father had stopped visiting the Mikaelsons after Penelope’s mother died, and after Hope’s parents went missing- presumed dead by the Ministry of Magic, mostly Penelope’s father. 

“You know,” Hope lowers her voice as Penelope hesitates, “My family misses you. It’s been a while since you’ve visited us. You’re always welcome home with us.” 

“I’m sure your Uncle Kol loves that.” Penelope replies coldly. Hope’s family, in all honesty is a little crazy and flawed, but at the end of the day, all that matters to them is family. Penelope hasn’t missed the way Kol treats Freya and Marcel differently- for whatever reason  _ that  _ is, but she also knows that Kol doesn’t trust her father- much less  _ her.  _

“Penelope. Aunt Rebekah and Aunt Freya love you, they asked me about you all summer.” 

“What about Keelin? I know she loves me, too.” 

“She still hasn’t forgiven you for teaching Nik how to fly.” 

The two of them laugh at the memory. Penelope had decided to spoil Nik with a broom. In her defense, he had just turned four, and her and Hope have been flying together for as long as she can remember, so of course she wanted Nik to be the same. He’s the closest thing she has to a younger sibling. Her and Hope had spent an hour with him, showing him how to control the broom before he decided he was better than both of them combined. 

Keelin’s reaction to Nik flying around the Mikaelson’s living room that day was something Penelope was never going to forget- the way Nik was giggling as she tried to stop him, the way her and Hope couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of Keelin chasing him down. Penelope had never really felt at home when she’s with her father, but that day, she realized that Hope and her family were closer than her and her father would ever be- and Penelope was okay with it. 

“He’s going to be the best Quidditch player Hogwarts has ever seen thanks to us.” 

“He’ll win the Quidditch World Cup for us one day.” Hope agrees. She offers the package to Penelope again, and Penelope hesitates, but she takes it. 

“Tell Freya I said thank you.” 

“You can tell her yourself, you should write to them sometime,” Hope lowers her voice, “You’re family. Always.” 

Penelope tenses at the word. Growing up and seeing how close the Mikaelson family was, even after all their struggles only made her wish her parents could be more like that- more attentive and loyal to their own family, but they never were. She knows that Hope has grown up with her family constantly reminding each other  _ always and forever.  _

Hope notices, grabbing Penelope’s attention again, “Don’t act so shocked, Penelope. You’re practically a Mikaelson.” 

“Hope!” Landon comes clambering after Hope, with a goofy grin as he walks up to them. 

“Landon, hi…” Hope looks at him, then glances back at Penelope, “I’ll see you later?” Hope asks, and Penelope nods. Her and Hope haven’t talked all summer, barely talked when they realized they were roommates for the year, and now… There’s a lot they need to catch up on. 

“Yeah. I, uh… Thanks again, Hope.” Penelope adds awkwardly. Hope just smiles and waves goodbye as she leaves with Landon. When she looks back down the hall, Josie is still there with Rafael. 

Penelope doesn’t stay to watch as Rafael starts to whisper something in Josie’s ear. As she starts down the empty staircase, back to the Slytherin Common Room, she decides that she’s not going to class today. It’s not like anybody will be able to get anything done in class today. Everyone is waiting for dinner so they can finally find out who has been chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. Penelope’s been waiting all week for an excuse to slack in classes, or to skip them completely, or an excuse to not do anything, really. 

She opens the package from Freya- surprised to see a shirt with the Mikaelson Crest sewn on. There’s a small slip of paper from Freya as well, and Penelope’s not sure what to expect from it. She just hopes that it’s not some long letter that will result in her crying, or her feeling like she’s fucked everything up with Hope. 

_ In case you still need a place to stay.  _

Penelope stares at the writing. It seems that all of the Mikaelson’s have a thing for being extremely vague in their explanations. It’s no surprise that Hope is so annoying with her vague and curt responses. Hope’s Aunts have always been more open with Penelope while the two of them were growing up together. Penelope can’t count how many summers she spent with them while her parents were traveling the world for work, can’t count how many spells Freya helped her prefect, how many times Rebekah got concerned for the way her and Hope were flying on their brooms. Or how many late night conversations she’s had with Keelin when she couldn’t sleep. 

Penelope spends a very boring hour in her dorm, knowing that if she leaves, she’ll most likely be caught by a professor, or Filch and his stupid cat. Just when she thinks she’s going to die from boredom, Hope stumbles into their room, her tie loosely around her neck, and her shirt slightly unbuttoned. 

Hope barely glances in her direction as she unbuttons the rest of her shirt, throwing it at Penelope before digging into her chest, looking for something as if her life depends on it. Penelope peels the shirt off her face before throwing it back at Hope, “What the fuck, Mikaelson?” 

“Do you still have your Quidditch Pads?” 

“The season is canceled because of the tour-” 

Hope waves her off, still digging through her belongings, “Do you have them or not?” 

“I think I packed them…?” Penelope says unsurely, but she’s already digging through her own chest, pulling them out proudly when she finds them. When she looks over at Hope, she’s already in them. 

“Hurry up, Park.” Hope demands in her captain voice. It usually scares the rest of the players while it makes Penelope laugh, she moves faster to put them on. The two of them stand like idiots in the middle of their dorm, in their Quidditch equipment, and it reminds Penelope of the time they had gotten their first set, both of them over the moon to have them and play on a “real” Quidditch team. 

Hope nods towards the shirt Penelope had received from Freya, “That’ll look good on you.” 

“Better than on Kirby?” 

Hope breaks out into a grin, and it feels like they haven’t spent months apart and worrying about each other, “Maybe.” 

“No, I think it's definite.” 

“Whatever.” Hope shoves her shoulder, “Let’s go.” 

Penelope’s about to ask if Hope has any classes she should be attending, but it’s clear that Hope doesn’t care about that as they sneak out of the Slytherin Common Room, through the halls and out the doors that lead to the Quidditch Field. They grab their brooms from the broom closet, and the Snitch from the chest that holds the rest of the equipment. 

Hope carries the Snitch, much to Penelope’s annoyance. She’s been the Slytherin’s Seeker since her second year- only after a boy named Daniel lost the position due to a year ending injury, but Penelope worked her ass off to keep the position. Hope was placed as a beater- mostly because of the legacy her father and uncles left behind. 

They’re high off the ground when Hope finally holds out the Snitch to her, “I hope you know I’ve never forgiven you for taking my spot.” 

Penelope scoffs, “We all know I’m a better Seeker than you.” 

The snitch comes alive, wings fluttering after Penelope’s words. Hope’s smiling, and it reminds Penleope of the summer night’s spent together, both of them fighting over their own snitch for hours. Admittedly, there had been a few times when Hope won. 

The snitch flies off before Penelope can say anything else, and the two of them are speeding through the air after it, despite the fact that it has gone missing in a blink of an eye. They spent most of the day out on the field, most of the time spent sharing the stories from their summer apart, Penelope starting from her time in Belgium, and Hope ending with updates on Nik. The snitch has been long forgotten, until it’s a golden blur in front of Penelope’s face. 

Her and Hope spend the next five minute flying neck to neck, elbowing and trying to push the other out of the way, the snitch just out of reach. Penelope thinks about attempting to jump off her broom, just for the satisfaction of beating Hope, but she doesn’t trust her broom to catch her again.

“Hope!” A voice calls, causing Hope to stop suddenly, nearly flinging herself off her broom as Penelope manages to grab the snitch. Just  _ barely,  _ though. If Penelope had reacted the same as Hope, they would be out for another five hours just looking for the flying ball. 

Penelope looks down at the voice that distracted Hope, laughing when she sees Landon Kirby hundreds of feet below them, his Hufflepuff tie sticking out like a sore thumb. Is Hope Mikaelson really that whipped for a man like Landon Kirby? 

“Landon!” Hope curses as Penelope holds up the snitch victoriously. “Fuck, give that to me.” She demands, lunging for the snitch, but Penelope manages to dodge out of her way- barely, though. If she didn’t have years of Quidditch under her belt, Penelope would be dealing with a few broken limbs right now. 

“Hope, Penelope!” Landon tries again, “Dinner is starting soon, they’re going to call the names tonight, remember?” 

Landon’s reminder has both of them stopping mid-tussle, the two of them suddenly sobering up. 

“You put your name in, right?” Hope asks, and Penelope only nods- she thinks all of the Slytherin’s old enough put their name in. 

“Yeah, we need to go.” They’re both racing down to Landon, handing him their brooms and the Snitch, Hope giving him a quick kiss that has Penelope making a face as they run back to the castle, desperately ditching their Quidditch equipment in their dorms to make it to dinner on time.

They get separated by the time they make it to the dining hall, not that Penelope minds. She ends up eating enough to feed an army after all that flying she did with Hope. She gets up for a second, leaving Ethan and Maya. As she turns around, she runs into Josie, nearly spilling her water all over the both of them. 

“You look like you’re about to throw up,” Penelope comments, and Josie only looks more uncomfortable. Penelope offers Josie her goblet, filled with water, “Here, drink this, it’ll help.”

Josie looks thankful as she takes the goblet, downing the whole thing without a word. Penelope laughs a bit, and pulls Josie to sit down next to her, ignoring the strange look Josie gives her. It’s not like they’re at the tables with their houses anymore, everyone is crammed into the room, waiting with their friends at random tables as they wait for the names to be announced.

“What? You should eat something, even if it’s small,” Penelope tells Josie, “Unless you’re actually about to throw up.” 

“I’m not going to throw up. You missed class today.” Josie mumbles in a small voice, then adds, “And you’re sweaty.” 

“I was busy.” Josie gives Penelope another look, one of annoyance, but Penelope grins, “Not really, I just skipped to play Quidditch with Hope. You’re not going to report us, are you?” 

“I guess not.” 

A few more students try to squeeze their way at the table, pushing Josie closer to Penelope. She tries to give Josie some space, because she’s not sure if Josie’s actually sick, or Josie’s going to continue ignoring her after they finish eating and the names are called.

After around fifteen minutes, the candles above them dim, and the Goblet of Fire is pushed into the middle of the room by a few Professors as Headmistress Forbes starts speaking.

Josie suddenly looks nervous, “I should go.” 

“No,  _ stay _ .” Penelope clasps Josie’s hand in her own, not sure why the brunette wants to leave so suddenly. There’s nothing wrong happening, not  _ yet  _ at least. She has no idea how people will react to the names that are about to be called.

Josie looks more worried, but when their eyes meet, and Penelope tries to rub her thumb over Josie’s knuckles soothingly, Josie lets out a small exasperated sigh before sitting back down next to Penelope. A few more people come in later, trying to squeeze their way onto the crowded bench, and Josie’s pushed into Penelope’s lap. 

Penelope tries her best to not seem affected by it, but it’s  _ Josie,  _ and Headmistress Forbes is still going on her rant about the History of the Triwizard Tournament, and she’s fucking tired from struggling to sleep last night. Penelope can basically feel the frustration radiating from Josie, but it seems to cease a bit when Penelope moves their clasped hand in front of them, resting in Josie’s lap. 

She decides to ignore the fact that Josie smells like the soaps that are in all of the Prefects bathrooms, knowing that Lizzie’s a prefect, and the two of them share everything, so it’s not a big deal, but she misses the way Josie usually smells faintly of vanilla, as if she had just stepped out of the kitchen after baking all day. 

Josie leans back a bit, accidently bumping into Penelope’s face, “Sorry.” Josie mumbles. 

“You’re fine.” Penelope answers, feeling flustered by the whole thing. She’s used to being close to Josie, after all those hours they’ve spent getting to know each other’s bodies, and all those hours Penelope has spent annoying her, but Penelope can’t really fathom the fact that Josie’s sitting in her lap, holding her hand. 

That’s definitely not down their alley, but Penelope doesn’t complain about it. 

Headmistress Forbes is  _ still  _ ranting when she tunes back in, and Penelope eventually just leans forward and rests her forehead against Josie’s back. She was going to rest her head on Josie’s shoulder, but she just knows that Josie would have looked at her like she killed a puppy and ask her what she is doing.

She ends up kissing the space between Josie’s shoulder blades, not caring who sees. They’re in the corner anyways, one of Penelope’s elbows presses uncomfortably against the wall, and nobody is focused on them. 

Josie relaxes even more when Penelope does that, much to Penelope’s surprise. She can’t help but press another kiss, forgetting that anybody can see them. They haven’t spoken to each other in days, not really. There have been the few stolen glances in the halls and in classes, the few mumbled words between them when they’re at a crammed table and working on an assignment together. Penelope doesn’t know which road led Josie to not act like she hates every second of her presence, but Penelope doesn’t find herself complaining. It’s nice to have Josie act normal around her- as normal as the two of them can get. 

“Alyssa Chang!”

“Jade Ashford!” Headmistress Forbes announces, and the group of Durmstrang students explode into loud cheers, the group of sturdy students clapping the back and shoulders of a tall girl, who is already sizing Alyssa Chang from Beauxbatons. 

Penelope’s impressed. Based on what she has learned over the years, the Triwizard Tournament is usually filled with men, with a lone female competitor. Penelope’s interest suddenly peaked, along with all of the Hogwart Students around her. She wonders if Rafael or MG would be picked, or Hope. 

The entire room collectively holds their breath to hear the last name when the goblet spits out another piece of paper, and Josie’s grip on Penelope’s hand tightens.

“Josette Saltzman!” 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty folks. strap in.

Josie feels like throwing up. 

Time seems to slow down after her mother reads off her name, first a deafening silence falling upon the room, that is quickly broken by a few confused whispers, but that doesn’t stop from every single head turning towards her. When she doesn’t move, everyone seems to blink in usion, all of them just as confused and surprised as Josie is. At the end of the hall, her mother beckons her forward, but Josie doesn’t react. Doesn’t  _ want  _ to move. 

She notices Lizzie in the crowd, looking more betrayed than shocked, MG is staring at her with a mixture of surprise and happiness, Rafael is sitting next to MG with a goofy grin, as if he doesn’t realize that being a part of the tournament can be a  _ bad  _ thing. Or maybe he’s just happy for her? Who knows? 

If her mother didn’t look so worried, she’d be a little less concerned. She had hoped that her name wouldn’t be called, or that the tournament wouldn’t be as dangerous as all of the stories make it out to be. 

And now, every single person that’s been at Hogwarts for the past week is either going to love her or hate her. She feels like either throwing up, or sinking further into Penelope’s touch until she disappears into the Slytherin’s arms. 

Eventually, Penelope gently pushes Josie off her lap, encouraging her to get up. Josie wants to stay, hold onto Penelope’s hand, and act like her name hasn’t been called. Her mother stands at the other end of the hall, with the other two girls who have been chosen. Josie recognizes both of them, of course she does. Lizzie and Alyssa Chang have only been at each other’s throats the moment they learned of each other’s existence, and Josie remembers Jade as one of the kinder Durmstrang students.

“Josie,” Penelope whispers, finally letting go of her hand. “Josie, you have to go.” 

“I don’t want to.” Josie whispers back. She’s still aware of all the stares on them, ignoring the fact that their whispers are echoing in the silent hall. 

Something crosses Penelope’s features, and Josie’s not sure what it means, but Penelope starts frowning, “Josie, you have to. They called your name. I’ll wait for you, okay?” Josie only feels more cornered by the minute, and Penelope’s going to fix her tie, “Do you always wear this thing crooked?” She teases, despite the situation at hand. 

“Pen…”

“It’s okay, Jo. It’s just a meeting with the Headmistress and the other champions.” 

“But I-”

“Miss Saltzman,” Her mother says, the words sounding strange from her. If Josie didn’t know her so well, she would have missed the slight tremble in her mother’s voice. None of the audience seems to notice as they all look at her, snapping out of the trance they were in before. “Come on.” 

Penelope pushes her forward gently, and Josie finally finds it in her to move, students moving out of her way as if she’ll burn them. When she reaches the end of the hall, the rest of the students are immediately dismissed, and Josie, along with the other two girls are ushered into a back hall, leading them to her mother’s office. 

The three of them are left in the office by themselves, and Josie doesn’t know what to do with herself. She sits at one of the couches, watching as Alyssa and Jade inspect the room around them. Alyssa and Jade seem to be comfortable with the fact that their names have been chosen, which makes sense. All three of them did put their name in, after all. The two of them talk among themselves, either knowing that Josie doesn’t want to talk to them, or they’re ignoring her presence. Maybe they’re already planning on teaming up to overpower her in the tournament, but Josie can’t find it in herself to care. 

She never thought her name would be called. She had hoped that the goblet would forget that she had ever walked into that room and fed it a slip of paper with her name on it. She had regretted it the moment after. Now what is she going to do? This was the year she was supposed to take her NEWT’s, figure out what she wants to do as an adult, and now she has to worry about potentially fighting for her life in three ridiculous task, all for lousy Galleons, and holding the Triwizard Cup until they decide to hold the event again. Not to mention,  _ eternal glory  _ like her mother had dramatically stated before.

Screw that. 

Besides,  _ Penelope  _ thought it would be a good idea, but since when has the Slytherin had any good ideas?

Josie should just drop out of the Tournament now, and act like nothing even happened. Maybe she’ll be given a sympathetic look from one of her peers every now and then, but it’s better than having to fight Alyssa and Jade in whatever events this year's Tournament will hold. She half wishes that she’s a muggle, just like her father. She wouldn’t have to worry about anything like this if she were. 

She stares at the Sorting Hat, sitting lifelessly on a shelf. It’s strange to see the hat not moving or speaking, after all those years Josie has watched it sort students into each house. She remembers the day her and Lizzie were sorted like it was yesterday- The hat barely sat on Lizzie’s head before shouting out Gryffindor. It had taken longer to sort Josie- she doesn’t remember exactly  _ why,  _ but she remembers hearing it mumble to itself, debating on which house she belonged to, before Josie had just whispered out Gryffindor. 

She doesn’t feel much like Gryffindor now, though. She’s spent years in the house, only to realize how different she is from the rest of her housemates- and that showed today. Any Gryffindor would be proud of the fact that the Goblet of Fire had spat out their name. 

“Are you going to stare at that hat all day?” 

Josie looks to the sound of the voice, surprised to see Jade sitting across from her, looking more comfortable than she should in a room that doesn’t belong to her- but Josie doesn’t comment on it. 

“No.” 

“What did it ever do to you?” The blonde asks, “Put you in the wrong house or something? Is that what your school does?” 

“It’s nothing.” Josie grumbles, looking around the office again, wondering where Alyssa disappeared off to. 

There’s suddenly a loud crash, and Josie jumps to her feet as Jade looks amused. Alyssa stands off to the side, staring at the basin at her feet. That seems to get Jade’s attention, her watching as Josie picks it up carefully, inspecting it to make sure Alyssa didn’t damage it. 

“Is that-” 

“It’s a Pensieve.” Alyssa cuts Jade off, looking at Josie accusingly as Josie dusts it off. 

She has no idea if her mother has used it before, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she has. “Yes, and you almost broke it,” Josie tells her, “I don’t need my headmistress getting mad over this.” 

“Well, she shouldn’t leave it out where I can touch it-”

Josie looks at the open cabinet the basin had fallen out of, “You shouldn’t go through things that don’t belong to you.” 

Alyssa just smiles dismissally, clearly not caring to hear what Josie has to say to her. Josie puts it back into the cabinet quickly, making sure the door is shut properly before turning back to the two girls- who have decided that they can roam freely around the office. Jade doesn’t touch anything, at least, Josie doesn’t  _ see  _ her touch anything, but Alyssa doesn’t seem to care. 

Clearly, the whole  _ good kids with proper manners  _ vibe the Beauxbatons Academy didn’t apply to all of the students. Josie wishes that she could feel as carefree as Alyssa seems about their whole situation. 

Where the hell are their Headmasters? Aren’t they all supposed together and tell them what to expect from the Tournament? Tell them the rules? If anything, Josie had expected her mother to pull her away from the group of Headmasters and Professors to yell at her for putting her name in. 

Alyssa sits in the chair at her mother’s desk, and spins around dramatically, “Who’s that girl you were talking to?” 

“What?” 

“Short, green eyes, attractive as hell?” Alyssa twirls some of her hair around her finger, “The one who fixed your tie? She-” 

“She’s nobody.” 

Alyssa laughs at the way Josie answers coldy, clearly not bothered by the way Josie has been reacting. “Do you think she’d be mad if I asked her to joi-” 

“She’s busy with preparing for NEWT’s, she won’t take you up on your invitation… To  _ anything _ .” Josie tells the girl, ignoring how the mention of Penelope has her suddenly sent her down a spiral of thoughts about the Slytherin, or how the implications of Alyssa's words have her wanting to tell her that Penelope’s taken. Penelope promised that she would wait, and Josie’s curious to see if the girl would keep her promise. She’s still trying to decipher the look Penelope had given her after her name was read out. Josie doesn’t think Penelope has ever looked at her like that, or anybody else for that matter. 

“Doesn’t sound like she’s a nobody.”

“GRYFFINDOR!” 

Josie swirls on her feet, looking at Jade, who is wearing the Sorting Hat. Jade gives her a sheepish smile as she takes off the hat, handing it to Josie, as if Josie will know what to do with it. Alyssa has left her spot from the chair, excitedly taking the hat from Josie. 

Alyssa and Jade start talking among themselves again, their voices overlapping as they talk about the houses of Hogwarts. Alyssa puts the hat on, and the Sorting Hat takes some time sorting her, but he sounds confident as he sorts her into Ravenclaw. 

They talk like excited first years, and Josie doesn’t remember ever being so happy about her sorting. She’s more confused by their change in moods over the past twenty minutes, from being completely indifferent, to annoying Josie, then to two excited teens. 

She puts the hat back on the shelf, deciding that she’s going to leave the two of them. Nobody is here to tell them how to go forward, so she’ll figure it out herself if she has to. 

Just as if her mother was reading her mind, her mother comes storming up the steps, a small army of professors and the headmasters from the other two schools behind her. The three girls suddenly sit on one of the couches at the sight of all of them.

Compared to the last time Josie saw her mother, only a short twenty minutes ago, she looks more collected, and barely glances in Josie’s direction as the rest of the people make themselves comfortable. Josie feels a bit better when she sees that Professor Tig and Williams are in the room. 

Once a silence falls upon the room, her mother speaks, “Congratulations on being the Champion of your school,” She says coldly, a stark contrast to the warm way she usually speaks to her audience, “You now have the opportunity to make your school and families proud of you, no matter what you do over the next few months. You will have three tasks assigned to you, and you will be given hints as to what these hints could possibly be. Anything you have access to can be used to your advantage during these tasks. Any questions so far?” 

“Why only three tasks?” 

“Three tasks is all that’s needed to prove what you are capable of, Miss Ashford. It seems that you’re already underestimating how hard these tasks can be. Now, depending on how well you three handle these tasks, the Tournament can be pushed to last longer, depending on any injuries you may receive. Unless you decide to withdraw from the Tournament, there are no other disqualifying factors…” 

“Besides dying, right?” Alyssa pipes up next to Josie, her voice sounding surprisingly small. 

“Besides dying,” Caroline confirms. “So, uh, no dying, please. I can assure you, none of us want that to happen. Once we get closer to the first task, we will have a system in place that will help you get out of any undesirable situations quickly, but you will be disqualified once you do so.” 

“So, trying to  _ not  _ die is a disqualifying factor.” 

“You would be withdrawing yourself from the Tournament using this system, so yes, Miss Chang, it is, as stupid as it sounds.” 

Her mother talks some more after that, and there’s not many more questions from Jade and Alyssa. Josie doesn’t say a single word, just sits and listens to things that the people around her say, trying her best to listen and pay attention, but she suddenly feels tired. She just wants everybody to stop talking, wants the headmasters to stop asking her mother questions so she can go and tell her mother that she didn’t think she’d be picked. 

Finally- after nearly two hours, the group of adults, including Alyssa and Jade leave. 

The moment the staircase closes behind them, Josie launches into an explanation, “Mom, I’m so sorry, I put my name in last night and I didn’t think that I would get picked, I just-” 

“Josie. What do I say about apologizing?” 

“To only apologize when I do something wrong?” She asks unsurely, and her mother lets out a small laugh as she sits on the couch next to Josie.

“That’s right. You did nothing wrong.” 

Josie sighs heavily, “I thought you were going to hate me.” 

Her mother frowns, “Honey, why would I ever think that? I was shocked to read your name from the goblet because I had no idea you put your name in, but hating you? I could never do that, you’re my daughter and I love you.” 

“I know,” Josie answers, although she’s not very convinced. She may be a bit dramatic, but she doesn’t think her friends, or Lizzie for that matter are going to be so ready to forgive her, and she isn’t ready to forgive herself just yet. “It was a mistake, I regretted it the minute after.” 

“We all do things we regret, Josie. Sometimes in the long run, they end up being the best choice you could have made. If you really don’t want to do this, you don’t have to, you know that, right?” 

“Yeah, I guess… I shouldn’t just…  _ Not  _ do anything, right? I should at least try,” Josie says, mostly talking to herself, “I’d be stupid to just drop out when other students wanted to be picked so badly.” 

Her mother smiles, “You can do whatever  _ you  _ want, I’m just your mother,” She seems to regret her words, “No, I’m here to support you and stop you from making any stupid, reckless, immediately life-threatening choices and… This… as much as I hate it, isn’t one.” 

“So I’m not in trouble?” Josie asks, waiting for her mother to tell her that she’s going to have to go to detention as a punishment.

“No, not yet,” She answers, pulling Josie into a hug that makes Josie feel better, even as she’s starting to wonder what the first task could possibly be, and she has to refrain from asking, because she’s sure that her mother can’t tell her anything. “You should go get some rest. Tell Lizzie that I said goodnight?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Josie stands up, starting to leave, “Good night, mom.” 

“Goodnight, sweetie.” 

Josie starts down the stairs, and as she steps into the corridor, stopping to make sure the door closes completely behind her, she jumps when she hears Penelope. 

“I was starting to think that I was going to have to save you.” 

“You waited...” 

“You sound so surprised. I said I was going to wait, didn’t I?” 

Josie stares at Penelope for a few seconds. The girl has ditched her robes and tie, wearing the simple white shirt and black pants. She feels guilty that Penelope had waited over two hours for Josie, and the fact that Penelope didn’t even go back to her dorm to change into something more comfortable. 

“I, uh, I thought you would have gotten bored or something.” 

Penelope grins, “I’m never bored, I was practicing spells while I was waiting. Had to hide from Filch and his cat a few times…” 

She continues to talk, and Josie, although she’s not exactly sure  _ why _ , starts to feel better as she listens. Maybe it’s because she had been so worried before, and just hearing someone talking about anything that isn’t the tournament soothes her, or if it’s just Penelope’s presence. 

Penelope nudges her, “What- oh,” Josie splutters stupidly as she looks at what Penelope’s offering her. A bag of organic cheese puffs. She looks at Penelope to search for an answer, but her expression is unreadable as Josie takes the bag from her. “These are a muggle food, how did you get them?”

Penelope smirks, “I have my ways.” 

“I… Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, Josie.” 

Josie tears open the bag, not questioning how Penelope even knew she liked them, and after munching on a few, she offers it to the shorter girl. The two of them walk silently, sharing the bag of cheese puffs as they start to walk back to the dorms. It’s only when they’re almost at the Gryffindor Common Room that Josie stops. 

“You’re Slytherin.” She states dumbly.

“You want me to slytherin?” Penelope asks cheekily, only laughing when Josie smacks her arm at the implications- mostly to distract herself from the fact that she’s not so opposed to the idea. 

“No, your common room is that way,” Josie points down the hall. “And you’re here with me.”

Penelope shrugs, “Chivalry isn’t dead? Why can’t I walk you back?” 

The two of them have stopped walking, and the bag of cheese puffs is, sadly, empty. Josie thinks about making up an excuse about how they might get caught by Filch, or that it’s late and Penelope shouldn’t waste any more time with her, but she’s sure her excuses will fall on deaf ears. Penelope’s looking at her for a response, and if Josie was honest, she doesn’t have one. It’s not like Penelope walking her back would be a  _ bad  _ thing, it’s just… Something they’ve never done before, and that’s the part that makes Josie want to run away. 

If she was completely honest, there’s a lot of things about Penelope Park that make her want to run away. 

“You should go back before Filch and his cat find you.” Josie says. 

“They won’t, they never do.” 

After that, there’s no more talking, or Josie trying to convince herself (and Penelope) that Josie doesn’t want to be near the Slytherin. It only takes a few aimless steps, and their hands accidentally brushing for Josie to kiss Penelope- kissing her in a way she’d never imagined herself kissing her- soft and needy, different from the rough kisses they usually share. As Penelope tilts her head back to break the kiss for a second, Josie’s pushing her towards the nearest wall. As soon as they hitthe surface, Josie’s lips collide with the skin of Penelope’s jaw. 

Penelope’s hands slip around Josie’s shoulders, into Josie’s hair, guiding Josie to continue. The action only fuels Josie, one of her hands dropping to Penelope’s hip. Josie goes to Penelope’s neck, with a vigor that only results in Josie leaving marks on every inch of skin she can reach. Penelope only reacts in a way that makes Josie kiss her harder, leave more marks that can’t be hidden, and whisper  _ mine.  _ It’s a thought that’s never crossed her mind before, but strangely, it doesn’t scare Josie off. A soft moan cuts through the silence in the hall, causing Josie to stop. She rests her forehead against the marble over Penelope’s shoulder. 

“Sorry,” Josie whispers, not sure where she finds it in her to lift her head up enough to make eye contact with green eyes. “I got carried away.”

Josie studies her, every thought in her head flying out the window. Penelope looks wrecked, eyes wide and puppies dilated in the dim lighting of the hall, stray hairs all over the place. She looks exactly how Josie feels. 

“Don’t stop.” Penelope practically whimpers, and Josie’s not sure what her reaction has anything to do with Penelope’s words.

“I’m mad at you,” Josie states simply, and Penelope raises a brow. “You basically told me to put my name in.” 

Penelope looks like she wants to laugh at Josie’s words, but instead she closes the distance between them with a kiss, “If you’re really…” A kiss. “So mad…”  _ Another _ kiss, this time with Penelope biting at her lip, and Josie feels weak in the knees. “Why are you here?” 

Josie believes that the universe does whatever it can to work against her whenever she’s with Penelope, because Penleope bites her own lip as she waits for Josie’s response, and the only response Josie can come up with is kissing her. 

“Fuck.” Is all Penelope utters in response as Josie starts another attack on her neck, hips pushing against Penelope. It doesn’t take long before Penelope’s breathing is ragged and sounds spill out of her with no filter. Josie has no intention letting Penelope get the release she’s clearly craving with the way she matches the rhythm Josie had set, but when Penelope decides she can take matters into her own hands, Josie’s spurred on by a new fuel. 

She doesn’t take long to unbutton Penelope’s pants, surprised by the wetness she finds, and Penelope seems to catch on, “I think you underestimate the effect you have on me.” Penelope pants, it trailing off into a moan as Josie’s fingers are deft and quick, sliding into Penelope. 

Josie feels hyperaware of the way Penelope’s hands grip at her arms, to the way Penelope reacts in a way she hasn’t before when Josie nips at her collarbone. Josie doesn’t let herself stop, sucking on Penelope’s earlobe, wondering if Penelope’s aware of how crazy and ridiculous she makes Josie feel. It doesn’t take Penelope long to fall apart under her touch, Josie feeling a strange sense of pride. 

Josie refuses to meet Penelope’s eyes after that, not really believing that she had failed miserably at convincing herself that she’s mad at the shorter girl. 

“It’s not going to kill you to look at me,” Penelope comments as Josie continues to stare at her feet. “Or turn you to stone.” She jokes, but it doesn’t make Josie feel better.

Josie doesn’t have the heart to tell her that if she looks at Penelope again, it just might actually kill her, especially with the way Penelope’s green eyes stare into hers, or that she might as well turn into stone, because everything freezes around her. 

She’s not sure what to say, but thankfully, she doesn’t have to say anything as Mrs. Norris- that damn, annoying, ridiculous cat that Filch is always with meows, announcing her presence. Josie can hear Filch’s footsteps echoing, getting closer. 

Penelope pushes her forward gently, a small step closer to the Gryffindor Commom Room “Don’t get caught.” 

Then Penelope’s gone, probably running off to the Slytherin Commom Room. Josie groans to herself, wants to scream at something,  _ anything,  _ but Mrs. Norris meows again, and Josie’s reminded that she needs to leave. 

Josie makes it to the Gryffindor Common Room without being caught, and when she walks into her dorm, Lizzie doesn’t greet her. Josie tries to not be annoyed by it, and changes into her pajamas quickly. Lizzie still doesn’t acknowledge her, and Josie sighs- maybe even feels like crying. After everything that’s happened in the past few hours, Lizzie doesn’t even want to talk to her.

“Are you really that mad at me?” Josie asks, and Lizzie huffs.

“You didn’t even tell me you’re dating Penelope Park.” 

Josie chokes on air, “I’m not dating her! I thought you were mad about me putting my name in the-” 

“I’m mad about that, too!” 

“I didn’t think my name was going to be picked! Are you really that mad about the Penelope thing?” 

“She fixed your tie in front of everybody!” 

“I- That… That means nothing! Why are you so mad about something so stupid? I just told you I’m not dating her, why can’t you believe that?” 

Lizzie sits up suddenly, “Forget Penelope Park. You  _ knew  _ that I put my name in the Goblet, and you had to go and ruin it for me!” 

“That’s not what I wanted to do.” Josie insists, although she understands why Lizzie’s frustrated with her, but is it really worth fighting over? Josie doesn’t think so. 

“Whatever,” Lizzie answers with a roll of her eyes, “I don’t care, do whatever you want.” Lizzie’s last words are cold and distant, and Josie knows that they’re done talking. She doesn’t even have time to try to salvage the conversation before Lizzie turns off the lights, leaving Josie in the dark, and with nobody to confide in. 


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty, here's another chapter in Penelope's pov because she's lowkey a crackhead and it's super fun writing her. There may be a bit of fluff. 
> 
> Also, this is one of the longest chapters i written for this fic, so yay lmao. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter and are staying safe as always :)

“How’s your girlfriend doing?” 

Penelope nearly falls off her broom at the question, Hope leaning back causally with a devilish grin as she watches Penelope struggle to regain her balance, her grip tightening on her broom. Hope crosses her arms, only looking more proud of herself by the moment while Penelope gapes at her. 

If Penelope had it her way, Hope would be hanging from her broom by her feet right now, but Penelope manages to collect herself, “I don’t have a girlfriend.” She grumbles, and Hope laughs loudly, a sound that has been rare in the past few months. 

“Are you sure about that?” Hope questions, “I saw that whole thing before her name was called, her sitting in your lap and that whole-” 

Penelope’s ears burn. Admittedly, she had forgotten that there were people around her and Josie before Josie’s name was called- or rather, observant people who would use the information as blackmail. Or in Hope’s case- to make fun of her, which only seems to make it worse, because Hope is a Mikaelson, and she’s dating Landon Kirby out of all people.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Penelope insists, ignoring the fact that Hope’s sudden question has caught her off guard, and the fact that she may be getting all flustered in front of Hope thinking about Josie being her girlfriend. “She won’t date me anyways.” She mumbles to herself, and Hope leans forward dramatically, cupping her ear. 

“What did you say?” Hope shouts at her, and Penelope grumbles incoherently as she throws the quaffle at the Mikaelson in front of her, nearly knocking the girl off her own broom as she struggles to catch the ball. She missed Hope over the summer, but she definitely did not miss the Mikaelson’s antics to annoy her every chance she got. 

She thinks about the last time she saw Josie- how Penelope had waited over two hours outside the headmistress’ office after all the names from the goblet were called. They had talked a bit, and Penelope only had the intentions of walking Josie back to the Gryffindor Common Room, but it somehow ended up with Penelope’s back pressed to the marble wall and Josie kissing her, swallowing the moans and gasps that Penelope made, and- 

Hope throws the quaffle back at Penelope, nearly decapitating her in the process. 

Penelope rather talk to Hope about Hope’s sex life- or lack of it, with Landon Kirby for hours than tell Hope all about her complicated relationship with Josie Saltzman. She doesn’t even know where she stands with Josie, one minute Josie’s claiming that she’s mad at her, then she’s kissing her in a way that makes Penelope forget her own name. Okay, Penelope  _ did  _ throw some bait, but she didn’t think that Josie would take it- she insisted she was mad at her, after all.

Josie’s probably talking to the champions from the other schools, trying to figure out what the first task could possibly consist of, but Josie has a few weeks before the task is even held. Maybe even talking to the Headmistress. Hopefully, before the task rolls around, Josie will be able to look Penelope in the eyes again. It’s already been three days since Josie’s name was called, and Penelope has rarely seen the girl. 

In Josie’s defense, it’s the weekend and it’s not like she  _ has  _ to talk to Penelope and check in with each other. 

Penelope’s been distracting herself by talking to Hope and playing Quidditch, attempting to do all of her schoolwork at a normal hour, but Josie has stayed on her mind- no matter how much Penelope tried to get her off of it. 

And now,  _ of course,  _ Hope just has to bring her up. If Hope thinks they’re dating, how many other people think the same thing? Is it really that obvious that they aren’t just friends, or did people just assume they’re something more because Penelope just so happened to be there when Josie’s name was called? 

None of it matters, really. They’re not dating, and Penelope doesn’t think they’ll ever get to that stage in their lives. She’s already seen the way Josie reacts when Penelope had joked about people believing they’re together- needless to say, Penelope doesn’t joke about it anymore. It’s for the better, anyways. Josie needs to focus on the Tournament, Penelope should focus on what she wants to do after they finish the school year- Something other than falling into her father’s footsteps, atleast. 

Hope whistles, “To earth, Penelope.”

Pemelope grumbles some more, much to Hope’s entertainment. She changes the topic to Landon, laughing herself when Hope gets frustrated with the conversation. They’re flying around aimlessly when a group of kids approach them- Landon Kirby leading them. Penelope’s ready to bully the Hufflepuff away, but refrains from doing so when Hope sends her a warning look, and she recognizes one of the kids following Landon. 

A second year Ravenclaw- but he’s practically a Slytherin in Penelope’s eyes. A small boy with a mop of curls and wide brown eyes. 

“Pedro!” Penelope says excitedly, and looks at Hope, “I have dibs.” 

“I-  _ what?  _ On Pedro?” Hope questions, but Penelope doesn’t answer as she flies down to meet the group of kids. 

“Penelope!” Pedro practically cheers as he jumps into her arms, causing the both of them to fall off her broom- thank god Penelope was only a few feet off the ground when he does so. 

“Oof.” Penelope lets out as they hit the ground, and Pedro is already out of her arms to say hi to Hope, leaving her to dust off her clothes as she waits for him to notice her presence again. He does in a few minutes, tugging her and Hope along to introduce them to all of his friends that he brought along with him.

A few of them look surprised to be in the presence of a Mikaelson, others just look happy to be out in the pitch with older students. When Hope asks if they want to play a quick game of Quidditch, they break into excited cheers. 

Penelope immediately calls Pedro to be on her team before Hope or the other kids can say anything, Pedro giving her a fist bump as he stands next to her. Thankfully, there’s only a total of twelve kids, including Pedro, meaning that Hope and Penelope can continue to play, too. 

A few moments later, they’re all hovering in the air as Hope explains the rules to them. Pedro flies in close to Penelope, “Your girlfriend is pretty.” 

Penelope manages to keep a straight face, wondering if Hope had put Pedro up to it. “Who’s my girlfriend?” 

“Miss Saltzman?” Pedro asks sweetly, “The one who got chosen by the goblet?” 

“You can call her Josie, Pedro.” 

“Oh. Well, I saw you and Josie when she was picked, she’s very pretty.” 

“She is pretty,” Penelope finds herself agreeing, almost dreamily. “Josie’s not my girlfriend, though. We’re just friends.” 

Pedro frowns at that, as if it’s confusing for him to wrap his head around the idea of them simply being friends. “You two should date, then.” 

Penelope laughs at that, not expecting him to be so bold with his next words. “I’ll think about it, bud. But for now, I want you to find the Golden Snitch for me.” 

“You’re the seeker.” He points out.

“You’re the only seeker better than me, I trust you to help me kick Hope’s ass.” She tells him, and he smiles wildy at that. 

Hope yells down at Landon to let the Snitch go, effectively starting the game. 

Hope had the same idea as Penelope, giving the smallest kid on her team the Seeker position, and taking the spot of one of the chasers. The game picks up quickly, but Penelope’s barely able to play as a chaser as she flies around, helping her team. She may have messed up a bit when she was assigning positions to them, but they seem to be having fun. She teaches one small girl how to hit a bludger further than Penelope ever has, and the two of them cheer, electing to ignore the fact that it almost snaps Hope’s broom in half. 

“Hey!” 

“Sorry!” Willow shouts back.

“Hey,” Penelope tells the Hufflepuff, “There’s no apologies in Quidditch.” 

“Sor- I won’t say it again, Miss Park.” 

“You can call me Penelope, kiddo.” 

“Okay, Penelope.” 

Penelope smiles, “You should tryout for the Beater on your team next year, I’m sure they could use you.” 

“I’m too small.” 

“Nah, you’ll probably grow an inch. Maybe two.” 

Another kid calls out to Penelope for help, and she’s flying off again, giving him tips on how to stop the Quaffle whenever it’s speeding his way. After an hour of trying to teach them, and flying around, she decides to hover over to the side, observing the improvements they’ve managed to make in the short amount of time. 

She doesn’t mean to brag, but if they were all Slytherin, her house would have the best team in years. Hope flies next to her, kicking Penelope’s knee when Penelope doesn’t acknowledge her. 

“Your team is a mess.” 

“Shut up, Mikaelson talent can’t be taught.” 

Penelope laughs at that- she can practically see Klaus Mikaelson cracking a smile at Hope’s comment. The two of them begin to bicker, and eventually, Penelope decides to stand on her broom, only concerning Hope with each passing moment. 

“Penelope, none of us have our wands, get your ass down no-” 

“I’m fine,” Penelope insists, but she allows her broom to drop a few feet- slowly, of course. “See?” 

“Hope!” A little girl shouts, and Penelope would have thought the girl was being murdered if she didn’t know better. Hope hesitates to go help the girl, giving Penelope pointed stare. 

“When I get back, you better be on your fucking broom like a normal person.” 

“No promises.” 

Hope flies off to help the girl calling for her, and Penelope stays standing on her broom. She’s not moving much, balancing on it is easier than she had expected it to be. 

“Woah, Pen-” Penelope can’t react to Pedro bumping into her, practically flinging her from her broom. 

She comes to a few seconds later, her mouth filled with dirt and blood. Somebody is shaking her gently, and she spits out whatever has made its way into her mouth, and groans as she rolls onto her back, struggling to breath. 

Hope’s standing above her, looking down at her with a face that says  _ what did I fucking tell you?  _

“Water.” Penelope croaks. 

Landon’s by her side in a flash- she had forgotten he was even there, and he helps her wash out her mouth, ridding of dirt, grass, and blood. She downs whatever is left of the water after that. All of the kids are hovering a few feet off the ground, watching with wide eyes as she attempts to get to her feet- and fails miserably. 

Pedro only looks more guilty by the second, and Hope’s looking more like her mother when she’s annoyed and concerned. 

“Stays here with them,” Hope commands Landon as she grabs her own wand, “Make sure nothing happens to them while I take her to the Infirmary.” 

Landon’s nodding, then running off to check on the kids as Penelope attempts to stand again. Hope catches Penelope before she can fall onto her ass, and picks her up in her arms.

Penelope stares at Hope dumbly for a few moments as Hope leaves the pitch. 

“Mikaelson, put me the fuck down.” Penelope growls, and Hope only chuckles. 

“I always knew you wanted a reason to fall back into my warm, strong arms.”

“No.”

“What’s next? You’re gonna steal a kiss?” 

Penelope gasps, and slaps Hope’s chest, trying- and failing miserably to push herself out of the Mikaelson’s arms. She probably looks ridiculous, flailing her arms around like an upset baby, yet careful to not move her leg due to the excruciating pain that shoots up everytime she moves.

Maybe Penelope  _ did  _ steal a kiss from her best friend once or twice, but in her defense, they were only fifteen, and Hope claimed she had never kissed a girl- which only gave her the brilliant idea of asking Penelope. And sue her, maybe Penelope thought she was a good kisser, there’s nothing wrong with that- aside from the fact they both swore to never tell another soul. 

“We made out twice, and  _ you  _ enjoyed it, too!”

“No, you’re the one who said I was an amazing kisser!”

“It was your idea to kiss in the first place! Put. Me.  _ Down! _ ”

After she puts enough emphasis, Hope lets go of Penelope, only causing Penelope to wrap her arms around Hope’s neck. She hadn’t expected Hope to actually  _ drop  _ her, but Hope manages- barely, Penelope realizes as Hope stumbles- to catch her again. 

Hope starts the long walk back to the castle, and as the two of them settle down, Penelope realizes that her ribs are killing her. Every Time she breathes, a sharp pain shoots up her side. If she wasn’t feeling so much pain, she’d be leaving Hope in the dust right now over her totally uncalled comment.

They make it back to the castle, getting a few weird looks from a few passing students as they, well, Hope, walks them to the infirmary. As they turn into the infirmary, Hope freezes, “Hey, what-”

Penelope stops talking when she notices what Hope had stopped walking for. Josie is sitting at one of the beds, swinging her legs a bit as she waits for Madam Pomfrey. Penelope wonders what had happened for Josie to be here, but her answer is provided when Madam Pomfrey walks up to Josie with what Penelope recognizes as bruising and numbing paste. 

Madam Pomfrey doesn’t even look over her shoulder at her and Hope when she commands, “Put her in that bed over there,” As Hope starts to obey, Madam sighs heavily, “Don’t tell me it is another Quidditch injury, Miss Park.” 

Penelope only smiles, giving Pomfrey her best smile as Hope puts her on the bed across from them gently, “Sorry, Madam, I can’t make any promises.” 

Josie’s staring at her now, confusion and concern crossing her features, but Penelope isn’t able to say anything before Pomfrey closes the curtain around Josie’s bed, tending to her injuries. 

Penelope’s too busy trying to figure out why Josie is in the infirmary to realize that Hope is unbuttoning her shirt, and only realizes when Hope mumbles out, “Ew.” 

“What-  _ ew, _ ” She huffs out when she notices the strange way her shoulder is sticking out. She wonders how she didn’t notice it before, after all that moving she did, and the way she had hung onto Hope when her friend threatened to drop her. “My ribs hurt, too.” 

“What the fuck,” Hope whispers dramatically, pointing to Penelope’s neck. “Are  _ those? _ ” 

“Nothing!” Penelope exclaims, pulling the collar of her shirt to hide her neck. She was careful to cast a masking spell since it would have been rather awkward to ask Pomfrey for bruising paste for the discoloration Josie had left behind. They were starting to fade away, but there was only so much she could do to get rid of them. Besides, it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Until her masking spell faded without Penelope knowing. 

Hope’s half disgusted, half humored as she laughs, covering her mouth to stifle it. “You… You and Josie…” 

“Shut up!” 

“So you  _ are  _ dating her,” Hope nearly doubles over in laughter, only annoying Penelope even more. “Wait, are you two only-” 

“I said shut up!” Penelope shouts at Hope and immediately regrets it. After falling off her broom from at least twenty feet, she’s lucky that she doesn’t have a broken spine added to the mix. She’s definitely feeling her injuries now, now that she no longer has adrenaline. If she were being completely honest, she’s starting to feel tired. “My wand,” She demands, using her uninjured arm to reach for it. “Give me my wand.” 

“I don’t have your wand,” Hope tells her, jumping out of the way when Penelope attempts to flick her. “We probably left it at the pitch, since you almost fucking  _ died.” _

“You’re gonna fucking  _ die  _ if you don’t help me hide these from Madam Pomfrey,” Penelope hisses at Hope, only causing Hope to smirk, making a point of hiding her own wand. Penelope and Hope have seen Madam Pomfrey several times over the past seven years, thanks to their love of Quidditch and pranking each other whenever they can. Pomfrey has been nothing but kind and caring towards the two of them, her even being one of the few adults they truly trust at Hogwarts. She doesn’t need the sweet, old lady to know what she’s been up to in  _ that  _ department. “ _ Hope, please. _ ” She whines. 

“Fine,” Hope grumbles, waving her wand, and Penelope smiles gratefully. “But just so you know, if you ever get Josie pre-”

“Oh my, god,” Penelope groans. “Shut the fuck up, Hope. Please. Just. Stop talking. You’re giving me a headache.”

“That’s from the fall.”

“No, it’s from you being annoying as hell. Go annoy Landon or something.”

Madam Pomfrey pulls back the curtain suddenly from her spot with Josie, causing Hope and Penelope to jump at the sudden movement. Penelope immediately looks at Josie, who’s still sitting on her bed, pulling her shirt back on. Penelope doesn’t miss the new stitches on Josie’s side, though. Josie notices her staring, cheeks turning a shade of red, only causing Penelope to smile. She likes knowing that she doesn’t even have to say anything to make Josie blush. 

“What happened to you?” Pomfrey asks.

“She fell from her broom, Madam,” Hope is quick to explain, which Penelope is thankful for as she and Josie continue to stare at each other. Penelope winks, causing the Gryffindor to finally look away with a defeated sigh. “Probably twenty feet. She said her ribs hurt, and she couldn’t walk on her leg.” 

Penelope knows Josie’s listening in on what Hope is saying, but she doesn’t mind all that much. She wasn’t expecting to see Josie in the infirmary today, but Penelope likes seeing Josie whenever she can- it comforts her in a strange way. 

“My goodness, I’m getting too old to take care of you two girls,” Pomfrey comments, looking down at Penelope. “May I?”

Penelope nods, and frowns a bit when Pomfrey closes the curtains around her bed, blocking Josie from her view. She lets Pomfrey inspect her leg, which is confirmed to be broken along with two of her ribs, and Pomfrey suspects that she has a concussion after Penelope asks them to lower the lights- apparently the room is already dim. Hope and Pomfrey help Penelope sit up to set her shoulder back into place. 

She may let out a few tears during that part, but Josie doesn’t need to know that. 

“I’m going to get you some Skele-gro, hang tight, sweetie.” 

Penelope and Hope share a look. Thankfully, throughout their quidditch careers, they’ve never needed to drink Skele-gro, but they’ve heard the stories. The drink is used to restore bones faster than any muggle solution can, and can be extremely painful in certain cases, if Penelope were missing a bone. Thank god that she’s not, and she’ll be able to leave within a few hours.

Pomfrey returns, pouring the smoking liquid into a small glass, Hope and Penelope sharing similar looks of disgust. Penelope takes the glass when Pomfrey offers it to her, and she nearly spits it back up when it burns her throat, tasting worse than anything she’s ever drank before.

“Madam-”

“You need to drink all of it.”

Penelope groans, but obeys, finishing what’s left of the Skel-gro before downing a cup of water as well. The drink is so gross that Penelope thinks that she might throw up all over Hope and get rid of the smirk on her face. 

“You may feel a little loopy while, but it will wear off. Unfortunately, you’ll have to spend the night here, Miss Park,” Pomfrey looks at Hope, “Make sure she doesn’t do anything else reckless, and bring her a change of clothes later.” 

“Sure thing, Madam.” 

Pomfrey leaves them after that, pushing the curtains away. Josie’s still on her bed, swinging her legs again, most likely waiting for more orders from Pomfrey. Penelope and Hope are talking when Pomfrey and Josie start whispering in hushed whispers, and Josie stands up, grabbing her hoodie. 

Penelope can’t help but wonder how adorable Josie would look in a baggy hoodie. It wasn’t supposed to be so cold, it’s hardly autumn, but there’s been a chilly breeze that has been making students complain- they all want the warmer months to last longer, but it seems the Tournament somehow brought an ending to that. 

“Wait, Josie!” Penelope calls, causing the girl to freeze, “What happened to you?” 

The medicine must be starting to hit her, because Josie starts talking, but Penelope can’t understand her, or focus on her. All she knows is Josie mumbles something about being with Alyssa Chang and a Hippogriff. 

Hope and Josie are staring at each other, both of them with their arms crossed, Hope standing at the end of Penelope’s bed like she is Penelope’s personal bodyguard. The two of them are talking more like bickering, and Penelope can’t understand a word they’re saying, but Hope says something that makes Josie frown. Penelope reaches for the back of Hope’s shirt, successfully pulling her away from the Gryffindor. 

Penelope gestures for Hope to get closer when both of them give her confused looks. Hope obediently leans in, allowing Penelope to whisper in her ear, “Be nice to Josie, I don’t want her to get upset.”

Hope laughs at Penelope- fucking  _ laughs,  _ as if Penelope told her the world’s funniest joke, and when she looks over at Josie, the girl just looks more confused and frustrated. 

Penelope decides to send Hope away after that, smacking her shoulders and throwing obscenities at her. Hope stops briefly, “Don’t hold anything she says against her,” she warns Josie, making a drinking gesture. “The medicine might make her a little… loopy.” 

“Fuck you, Hope.” Penelope spits out. 

“In your wildest dreams.” 

Penelope mumbles to herself, watching as Hope leaves. The medicine did  _ not  _ make her goofy at all. Sure, Madame Pomfrey had said that it would accelerate the healing of her leg and that Penelope would feel slightly different, but she feels fine. If she ignores the fact that Josie is looking at her with soft eyes and her eyebrows are furrowed together in concern, making Penelope feel warm and content that the other girl is simply near her. 

She notices Hope lingering around the door, probably to eavesdrop on her and Josie, but before Penelope can demand that Hope leaves, she runs down the hall- shouting at whatever.

“You’re cute when you’re worried,” Penelope tells Josie, who looks like she can’t decide from asking Penelope what happened, or if she should leave Penelope to rest. Josie immediately tries to change her expression at the comment, but fails to do so. “Your eyebrows get all bunched up and you pout some.” 

“What happened?” 

“I tried to walk on my broom twenty feet in the air, I’m surprised all I broke was a leg and two ribs.”

“You walked on your broom? You broke your ribs, too?!”

“Two of ‘em. Dislocated m’shoulder.” Penelope answers, her words slurring together. 

Okay _.  _ So. Maybe the medicine  _ is _ hitting her a bit. But by this time tomorrow, she’ll be able to walk on her leg with a slight limp, which anybody can agree that’s better than having a cast for weeks. She’ll take the slight language disadvantage if it means healing quickly. 

Josie sighs, taking a step closer to Penelope’s bed. They’re alone in the room now, Hope and Madame Pomfrey nowhere to be found. Penelope wants to be back on the Quidditch field with Pedro and all those younger kids, teaching them how to fly faster, more efficiently. Teach them how to annoy Hope in all the best ways, and watch as she tries to not lose her temper with them. 

“Does it hurt?” 

“Yeah, but you could make it better. With a kiss,” Penelope replies and  _ fuck,  _ she totally did not want to say that. Of course, she wouldn’t mind receiving a kiss from Josie, but she’d never admit that to Josie’s face, even if it means she gets to see the way Josie reacts adorably, a faint red tint to her cheeks as she lets out a small, nervous laugh. “Well, not on my leg, cuz that hurts  _ way  _ too much right now, but maybe-” 

Penelope shuts up suddenly when Pomfrey walks in, although she isn’t paying much attention to them, sorting through her cabinet. 

Josie giggles, and maybe Penelope’s cheeks turn red. She’s never made Josie  _ giggle  _ before, only a few laughs. She feels proud of herself, and Josie takes a few steps closter, “I think Hope was right about the medicine.” 

“I’m never drinking Skele-gro again.” 

“That means you can’t be ridiculous whenever you play Quidditch.”

“I never am.” 

“You just tried to walk on your broom!” 

“Well, it was more of just standing there, but then Pedro accidentally knocked into me, and…  _ shit.”  _

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.” Penelope lies.

Josie pouts. 

“Seriously, it’s nothing.” 

Josie pouts some more, gives Penelope those puppy eyes. 

“It’s just my bones. My leg. Whatever it’s called.” 

“Skele-gro is painful, you’ll be in pain all night.” 

Well,  _ that’s  _ something that Madam Pomfrey forgot to mention, although Penelope guesses it is something she should know by now. She’s starting to regret playing Quidditch more and more by the second. 

“You should keep me company.” 

“What?” 

“I doubt I’ll be sleeping tonight, maybe you should stop by.” 

“Why would I do that?” 

“I don’t know…” 

Hope walks back into the infirmary, Pedro right behind her. 

“I’ll see you around.” Josie tells Penelope before walking away, ignoring the frown Penelope gives her. Penelope watches her go, not missing the way Josie and Pedro stop to say hi to each other, Pedro giving her a fist bump.

Pedro bounces up to the side of Penelope’s bed, handing her wand back, and launches himself into the biggest apology she’s ever heard from the young Ravenclaw. 

“Bud, what’s one of the rules of Quidditch?” 

“That the Snitch ends the game?” 

“No, the other one.” 

“To never say sorry?” 

“That’s the one. I was stupid for trying to walk on my broom.” 

“It was kind of cool.” 

“Oooh-kay,” Hope cuts in, “Pedro, as cool as that was, that’s one of the few times we  _ don’t  _ copy Penelope, okay?” 

“Okay, Miss Mikaelson.” 

“Pedro. You don’t always have to call us Miss, it makes us feel old.” 

“Sorry, Hope,” He answers, but hands Penelope a cookie, “Hope told me this is your favorite sweet, so I thought you’d want it.” 

“Thanks, Pedro,” Penelope smiles, “Why don’t you go eat dinner with your friends, it’s starting soon, isn’t it?” 

He nods, and gives Penelope half of a hug before giving one to Hope and running off, “Bye Hope, bye, Pen! I hope you get better soon!” 

Hope drops one of the bags she was holding onto the table next to her bed- probably the clothes she grabbed for Penelope, sitting on the edge of Penelope’s bed, opening the second one. The two of them eat the food Hope had brought the two of them in silence, for the most part. Penelope eats the food thankfully. 

“Can I have a piece?” 

“No,” A smack. “Pedro got it for me, it’s  _ my  _ favorite cookie.” 

“He wouldn’t have brought it for you unless I told-” 

“No! Eat the tricolors you got instead.” 

A face of disgust, “No, there’s too much jelly on these ones.” 

“I don’t know what to tell you, then.” 

Hope stays with Penelope until curfew, when Madam Pomfrey kicks her out with an apologetic look, insisting that Penelope needs a night alone to sleep and heal properly, then bids Penelope a good night. 

Penelope’s left in the Infirmary alone for forty minutes before she regrets not asking Hope to grab one of her sweatshirts. Even after being tucked in kindly by her best friend, she’s freezing under the thin bed sheets, compared to the ones in the dorms. 

She jumps when she hears a crash out in the hall, followed by some cursing. Penelope grabs her wand, ready to curse whoever walks into the Infirmary. She even decides that she’s going to use a fire spell, inspired by hers truly, but falters when she recognizes the girl who walks in. 

They’re at least thirty feet apart, giving Josie plenty of time to defend herself if Penelope were to cast a spell, but Josie still looks surprised and slightly scared that Penelope’s pointing her wand at her. 

“Josie?” 

“Hi…?” 

“What are you doing here?” 

Josie holds up a sweatshirt, “It gets freezing in here at night these days.” 

“Oh. Right.” 

“I, uh…” 

“You can sit down,” Penelope tells the taller girl, and Josie looks thankful as she closes the space between them, sitting down on the edge of Penelope’s bed carefully. “How’s the Hippogriff scratch?” 

“It stopped bleeding, so that’s an improvement. How’s the Skele-gro?” 

“Extremely painful.” Penelope admits. 

“Are you cold?”

Penelope thinks about lying, but then decides against. “Yeah.” 

Josie offers Penelope her sweatshirt after that, and Penelope’s surprised to find that it’s not a muggle one, but a sweatshirt that has the Maroon and Gold, with a small Gryffindor Crest sewn onto the fabric. It’s simple, but it makes Peneloep smile to herself, mostly when she thinks of how annoyed Josie had gotten when Penelope had her tie. Now the girl is offering her a sweatshirt? 

Penelope struggles to pull it over her head, and Josie helps her pull it down. Penelope feels better once she’s wearing the article of clothing, taking in the familiar, faint scent of Josie it brings. The two of them stare at each other for a few moments before Josie clears her throat and looks away. 

“I thought you would be bored, so I bought down some cards.” 

“Wow, you’re spoiling me, Saltzman.”

“Whatever. Do you want to play?” 

“War. It’s the best card game.” 

Josie looks surprised, “That’s a muggle game.” 

“My mother and I used to play it all the time,” Penelope explains, not blaming Josie for her shock. Salazar Slytherin, the founder of her house, was known for believing that pure bloodlines of Witches and Wizards are superior, so it’s not common for a muggle-born to be sorted into Slytherin. However, that was hundreds of years ago, and Slytherin has more muggleborns, or half bloods than ever. “She was a muggle.” 

“Oh. Did she…”

“Know? Yeah, my father met her when they were young, probably my age. She knew that he was a Wizard from the beginning, and he taught her everything about us. If you looked at her, you would have never thought she was a muggle. What about your mother?” 

“She died when I was young, but she was a Witch. My father’s a muggle.” 

“I’m sorry about your mother.” 

“Don’t be, I don’t remember much of her,” Josie tells her, but the words are heavy. She starts to deal their cards. “I’m sorry about yours.” 

“Who’s more like her, you or Lizzie?” 

“Everyone thinks I’m just like her, and Lizzie’s… She’s more like my mother’s friend, who helped my father raise us.” 

“Oh.” Penelope says, deciding to not press Josie for more information, and they start to play the game in silence.

Penelope gets distracted more often than not, trying to figure out wht Josie has decided to seek out her company, or simply by watching the other girl as she bites her lip, or when she frowns at a certain draw. The two of them play the card game for at least an hour before Penelope yawns. 

“You’re tired.” 

“Am not.” 

“You just yawned.” 

“My brain needed more oxygen.” 

“You need to sleep, anyways.” 

“No I don’t, let’s play another round.” 

Josie pulls the cards out of Penelope’s reach before Penelope can start splitting them among the two of them again, and Penelope frowns, “ _ Please?”  _

“No, you need to sleep if you want that Skele-gro you drank to properly work, you know?” 

Penelope groans, “I don’t feel like sleeping, why can’t-” 

Josie leans forward, pressing a soft kiss to Penelope’s cheek.

“What’s that for?” Penelope asks, in a bit of a daze, embarrassingly so. She hadn’t expected Josie to kiss her, even if it's a simple one on the cheek. It strangely feels more intimate than it should, but Penelope finds herself wanting more anyways. 

“So you feel better.” Josie answers, a small smile on her lips- Penelope’s not sure if it’s because Penelope was clearly taken aback by the action, or if Josie’s just happy in that moment. Either way, Penelope’s not complaining, even as Josie pulls the blankets up over Penelope’s shoulders. 

“Can I get-” 

“Goodnight, Penelope.” 

“Night, Josie.” 


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okokok i'm alive and am posting this chapter before i fall back down my hole of criminal minds. 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy and are staying safe :)

Eleven days before the first task, Josie finds herself in an empty classroom with Alyssa Chang and Jade Ashford, wondering what they could possibly do about the task. Alyssa’s convinced that they all might as well just drop out of the Tournament if nobody is going to tell them what to prepare for. 

The idea is more inviting than Josie wants to admit, so she reminds Alyssa that they’re supposed to be receiving clues about the three tasks. Either the three of them are terrible at figuring anything out, or there’s no hints for the first task, which only annoys the three of them more. 

Josie has no idea how close Alyssa and Jade are with their headmasters, but she is pretty sure that neither of them are related to them. She hasn’t attempted to ask her mother, but she knows there is only so much that her mother can share with her about the Tournament, so Josie has decided to wait to ask her anything. Related to the tasks, at least. Nothing has stopped her from asking about Lizzie. Her sister has been avoiding her ever since her name was called- even to the point where her sister has spent the night in MG and Rafael’s dorm. She tried to not be so annoyed that Lizzie didn’t want to talk to her, even when Josie attempted to apologize again.

“I’m leaving,” Alyssa announces, making a show of dusting off her clothes. “The interviewer was supposed to be here two hours ago.” 

“Wait!” Josie “We were told that-”

“Not all of us want to waste our time in this disgusting room.” 

Josie frowns at that. It’s not  _ her  _ fault that she goes to school and lives in a castle part-time. Besides, it’s got to be better than the boat Durmstrang has been staying on, and she has no idea what the Beauxbatons situation is. Her and Jade both follow Alyssa out of the classroom, and into the swarm of students.

“We should wait a little more, you know,” Jade tells Alyssa. “Remember how long we had to wait for our headmasters once we were chosen?’

“They need to fix their watches, then, I’m tired of waiting.” Alyssa complains.

Josie just sighs as she leans against the wall, watching as the halls become less crowded, and there’s still no sign of Ryan Clarke. In his defense, he could have gotten lost, or he’s still talking to their headmasters about the tournament, but Josie is starting to get bored. And tired of talking to Jade and Alyssa.

She’s about to give up and just go to her mother's office and figure out what the huge delay is, but when she turns around, she sees Penelope approaching the three of them. She’s a bit disappointed when she realizes that Penelope isn’t in the oversized sweatshirt Josie had given her last night. Penelope had looked so cute and tiny in it, Josie almost wishes that she had gotten a picture, although that would have been weird for them. The whole thing last night was uncharted territory for them, and Josie has no idea if they’re supposed to talk about it. They  _ should _ , right? That’s the advice her mother would give her.

Her heart just about drops into her stomach, and for a split second Josie thinks she may be throwing up soon. She hasn’t seen Penelope since their night in the Infirmary, where she left Penelope with a content smile after Josie had kissed her cheek. She still doesn’t know what possessed her to do so. 

“I just wanted to return these to you,” Penelope tells her, putting the fabric in her hands. Josie looks down dumbly, observing her folded sweatshirt, her tie resting on top. I, uh… I washed them last night, so you should be good to go. Like I never wore them.”

Josie frowns- yes, she  _ did  _ make a big deal about Penelope stealing her tie at the beginning of the school year, but that was what? Two weeks ago?  _ Three? _ Josie had thought it would take Penelope longer to return her belongings, if she ever did at all. Maybe Josie did have plans to use her sweatshirt as an excuse to approach the other girl again. 

She tells herself that she shouldn’t be getting so upset over something so simple. It’s not like Penelope has any reasons to want Josie’s tie or sweatshirt, and it’s not like Josie should be allowing herself to get distracted by the image of Penelope in her Gryffindor sweatshirt, the red and yellow different then the green and silver she’s always wearing. Not to mention the fact that Penelope looks ridiculously cute in it, the sweatshirt at least two sizes too big.

“Wait, you don’t have to- How’s your leg? Your ribs?” 

“It’s fine. Skele-gro does wonders. Ribs are as good as new, my leg is still a little messed up, but I didn’t want to miss classes today.” 

Right, of course.  _ Classes _ . They’re supposed to have classes today, like normal Hogwart students, not one of the champions of the Triwizard Tournament. 

“I won’t be in Divination today,” Josie blurts. “I have to do something for the tournament.”

“Oh, right… I’ll see you around, then.” Penelope replies, walking off. 

If Josie didn’t know any better, she would have said that Penelope seemed a bit disappointed that they wouldn’t be sharing any classes today.

“That was painful to watch.” Alyssa comments as Penelope limps away, leaving Josie momentarily stunned as she fiddles with the sweatshirt and tie Penelope has kindly returned- only, she doesn’t feel as happy as she had hoped she would be. 

“Shut up.” Josie grumbles.

“Trouble in paradise?” 

“We’re not together, so no, not really.”

Alyssa and Jade laugh, only annoying Josie even more. She wants to get today done as soon as possible. The three of them have been spending the past three days trying to gather any clues on the first task, but no luck. Jade had mentioned something about dragons, Alyssa mentioned something about Hippogriffs- which didn’t end too well when they went to go check on the few Hippogriffs Hogwarts has.

“Glad to know she’s still on the market.” Alyssa comments.

It takes everything in Josie to not say anything back, knowing that the other girl is trying to get a response out of her. Every time Josie has been around Alyssa, the Beauxbatons girl has done nothing but annoy Josie with her comments towards Penelope, their relationship, or lack of one. Jade has made some comments here and there, but nothing as suggestive as Alyssa. Thank god. Josie doesn’t know if she’d be able to handle  _ both  _ of them constantly giving her a hard time. 

“Girls! Sorry to keep you waiting!” A voice shouts from down the hall, and all three of them look in the direction simultaneously. 

Josie wants to run away, mostly after Penelope and ask what’s bothering her. 

“Oh, shit,” Alyssa curses under her breath, “There’s no way I’m dealing with  _ him. _ ”

“We’re going to do something differently this time around,” He ushers the three of them back into the classroom, smiling in a way that makes Josie want to punch him in the jaw. Repeatedly. “Sit, sit!” 

They do, and all share a few looks that he notices, grumbling to himself under his breath, “Okay, you know who I am. Ryan Clarke, reporter for the Daily Prophet, but you can call me Clarke, blah, blah. We’re going to do individual interviews today, which I know you all prepared for. We’ll be doing a group interview too.”

“What the fuck? No.” Alyssa demands, and Josie scoffs.  _ None  _ of them want to be here, the least they can do is make it easier for all of them. 

Josie finally notices the quill and notepad floating by Clarke’s shoulders, already scribbling everything down. Clarke laughs at Alyssa words, “Sorry, princess, your headmasters thought it would be a good idea.” 

Jade cuts in, “Are you sure? My headmaster told me to not interact with them outside the tournament.” 

“Is it true that your headmaster cheated on his wife?” 

Josie chokes on air at the question, Alyssa looks more amused than annoyed, and Jade smiles awkwardly, “Uh, no? Why is that even a question? Isn’t this supposed to be about the tournament?”

“I never get why I have to interview people  _ before  _ things, you know? It always makes more sense to ask the questions after. The world apparently wants to know who you are, all that shit.” 

Okay, there’s no way Josie’s mother approved for Clarke to interview them. 

Alyssa stands up, “Can’t you just do your job and interview us separately? If not, it’s just a waste of my time.” 

Clarke grumbles, and the quill writes down more things- all lies, Josie’s sure. “Fine,” He agrees, ushering Josie and Jade out the door. Josie and Jade stand awkwardly out in the hall, Josie still wrapped up in her thoughts about Penelope. She has no idea what to think of their interaction a few moments ago. 

Josie waits for an excruciating long hour while he interviews Alyssa, then Jade. When she’s left out in the hall waiting, she’s spending most of her time being distracted to remember that she’s supposed to be preparing for an interview. 

She sees MG leaving a class early, and asks him to bring her sweatshirt and tie back to her dorm, still confused by the whole thing. She wishes that the two of them could just talk like normal people, but they’ve seemed to completely ignore what they should do. 

Jade leaves her interview, furious about something as she storms off and Clarke gives Josie what she assumes he thinks is a charming smile. She doesn’t have the heart to tell him it’s not. 

Clarke spends most of the interview talking about himself rather than actually getting the interview done. It’s no wonder that Jade had stormed out suddenly. She waits for a question about the tournament, but it never comes. 

“What about your mother?” He asks innocently. 

“W-what?” 

“You know, the one that was brutally murdered after you and your sister were born, not the headmistress, althou-” 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” 

“I’m just saying-” 

“Shut up. You’re supposed to be asking about the Tournament, not my mother.” 

“Jos-” 

Josie stands up suddenly, grabbing the Quill that has been writing non-stop since she’s walked in. 

“Hey, that’s my quill!” 

“Fuck off.” Josie tells him, slamming the door behind her as she leaves. She’s not sure where she’s going, but after all the anger boiling out at his comment about her mother, only knows that it’s away from him. 

Josie’s halfway to the abandoned hut at the beginning of the forbidden month when a voice stops her. 

“He pissed you off, too?” 

“Yeah.” Josie huffs out when she sees Jade standing off to the side. “Is he even allowed to do that?” 

Jade laughs, “Who knows? He’s just an asshole.” 

There’s a few awkward moments of silence until Jade gestures to the forest behind Josie, “I thought you’re not allowed to go there.” 

“It’s… Strongly recommended to not go in?” 

“Well… Want to go somewhere you won’t die?”

Josie freezes at the offer, but ends up taking it. There’s no harm in taking the offer, right? The two of them walk to the Durmstrang boat, Josie being surprised when it’s mostly empty. She’s in their training center when she accidentally runs into Jade, who seems to be lost in thought.

“Sorry,” Jade says awkwardly, snapping out of her stupor when Josie asks if she’s okay, “My girlfriend and I just broke up, and with the interview for the tournament, it’s...”

Josie’s still in awe of how Jade’s entire school can fit onto the ship, barely taking in Jade’s words. She wonders where Alyssa and all of Beauxtons has decided to stay, but it certainly can’t be as cool as a hundred year old ship, or old castle for that matter. 

“Oh,” Josie replies mindlessly, remembering that she’s supposed to be having a conversation, “Sorry to hear that.” It explains why Jade had seemed more uptight earlier today when they were getting ready for their interviews, but Josie can’t really find it in herself to care. 

She’s been trying to take her mind off Penelope by starting to focus more on the Tournament, but when she tries to focus more on the tournament, the more she thinks about Penelope and trying her best to not let her down. She had attempted to distract herself from the Slytherin by attempting to mend her relationship with Lizzie- which has proven to be harder than she thought it would be. 

“Was your interview with Clarke that bad?” Josie attempts a conversation, “Was he a total ass, or was that just to me?” 

“He’s… He’s something else, that’s for sure. My headmaster and family will lose their minds when they see whatever he writes for the Daily Prophet. For a second I thought I was gonna kill him.” 

“That would be doing all of us a favor.” 

Jade ends up giving Josie a tour of the entire ship, and it’s not until they reach the top deck that Josie realizes they have been gone for hours, the sun setting behind the castle. The two of them stay there for a while, watching. Josie can’t help but think she’d rather be watching the sunset with somebody else, not somebody she’s supposed to be competing with.

“You should head back, right?”

“What- oh, yeah. Curfew is soon.”

“I’ll walk you.” 

Josie doesn’t put up much of a fight. She assumes that Jade is doing whatever she can to ignore her headmaster, and after the few interactions Josie has had with him, she can’t blame the girl. 

Once they reach the Gryffindor Common Room, Josie’s greeted by a sight she wasn’t expecting. 

“JOSIE! YOU’RE BACK!” Lizzie shouts from her spot in the middle of the room, standing on the table, surrounded by other students. Josie quickly realizes that there’s students from every house, and a few students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. They all turn to look at her and Jade for a few brief seconds before turning back to their conversations and drinks.

Out of all the things Josie imagined seeing while allowing Jade to walk her back, she certainly wasn’t expecting to walk into her drunk sister throwing what seems to be the party of the year. There’s already a few drunk people in the crowd, and Josie wonders how long this has been going on. 

Lizzie jumps off the table, ignoring the hand MG offers her, pushes through the crowd, and throws an arm around Josie’s shoulders, “I miiiiiissed you,” Lizzie practically sings, “I’m so sorry that I was such a bitch about your name being chosen, and the whole Penelope thing. Like, I can’t judge you after all the shit I’ve done, y’know.” 

Josie gives Jade an apologetic look before leading Lizzie away from the Durmstrang student, “How much have you had already?”

“Too much,” Lizzie admits as they approach the table with an assortment of drinks, but still pouts when Josie takes her cup from her, smells the liquid just so see how much trouble Lizzie has gotten herself into. Thankfully, Lizzie has seemed to choose the least destructive path- Butterbeer over FireWhiskey. “Give it baaaaack.”

Josie downs the cup before filling it up with water and handing it back to Lizzie, “Do yourself a favor and drink water for the next hour instead. You’ll thank me later. Besides, if you drink any more butterbeer, you may throw up.”

“That’s what the FireWhiskey is for-“

Josie slaps Lizzie’s hand when she goes to reach for one of the many bottles of FireWhiskey, and Lizzie gasps dramatically, “You’re so mean!” 

“And  _ you’re _ drunk already,” Josie points to the cup of water stubbornly. “Drink it.”

“Somebody needs a few drinks,” Lizzie mumbles from behind her cup. “How’d the interview go?” 

Josie stares at Lizzie, waiting for her sister to drink water. Hopefully, she doesn’t look so shocked that Lizzie remembered that the interviews were today. Lizzie stares back, refusing to drink any water. Eventually, when Josie goes to grab a few bottles of alcohol and attempt to get rid of them, Lizzie sighs dramatically and takes a few sips of water. 

She waits for Lizzie to finish the cup before pouring more water for her. She wonders how everyone else can be fine partying like this with the Tournament around the corner, but then again, they’re not the Champion of their school. 

Josie tells Lizzie a bit about the interview after that, explaining how Ryan Clarke clearly doesn’t care about the truth, but she doubts Lizzie actually hears a word she says, which, in all honesty, is fine. Josie just needed to get it off her chest. Lizzie excuses herself from Josie in search of MG, thankfully leaving with a cup of water instead of FireWhiskey.

Jade appears at her shoulder, nearly giving Josie a heart attack when she speaks. 

“Uh, I’m getting some FireWhiskey. You want some?”

Josie thinks about sticking to water, but she could use a drink. She accepts the Durmstrang’s offer, figuring that there’s no harm in having a drink or two with her. Things have been surprisingly civil between Josie and the other two girls, a complete opposite of what she had expected to happen. She’s on her third or fourth drink when Josie realizes that more students have invited themselves to the party, and it’s a miracle that one of the professors hasn’t come by to shut it down yet. 

She  _ also  _ realizes that people are dancing, and that’s when she finds Penelope. Josie crushes the plastic cup in her hand when she realizes that Penelope’s dancing with nobody other than Alyssa Chang and her boyfriend, out of all people. Josie’s about to mutter another spell and aim it at the Slytherin as she watches the way Alyssa pulls Penelope closer, almost kissing her as her boyfriend whispers something in her ear. 

“Josie?”

“What?”

“I asked if you need fresh air.” 

“Oh, no, I’m fine.” Josie lies, downing the rest of her FireWhiskey in one go, especially when she sees Penelope leaning into Alyssa. 

Jade starts to talk about something else again after that, but Josie can’t find it in herself to care as she makes herself another drink, distracting herself from the sight she just saw. Eventually, Josie decides that she wants to leave. She’s trying to come up with a believable excuse when:

“Fuck off, she’s not interested.” 

Jade shares a look with Josie, and Josie has no idea  _ what  _ to say. Her and Jade have been talking for a good hour or so, and has been getting more and more distracted throughout the conversation, knowing that Penelope is only a few feet away. Plus the amount of alcohol now in her system has only been making it even harder to focus on Jade. 

Josie hopes she looks apologetic as Jade makes an excuse to find one of her Durmstrang friends, but Jade doesn’t seem too offended by Penelope’s statement, but rather surprised. 

“Why’d you do that?” Josie demands, thoroughly annoyed with the Slytherin in front of her. Sure, she just saved Josie for wasting another hour of her time, but did she have to be so rude and confusing about it? She has no idea what Penelope has been trying to do the past few days, returning Josie’s tie and sweatshirt, to flirting with Alyssa and then  _ dancing  _ with the girl when she knows Josie’s watching, and now Josie can’t even talk to somebody?

“I didn’t like the way she was looking at you.” Penelope whispers, and Josie scoffs. It definitely didn’t look like that when Penelope was with Alyssa Chang and her boyfriend. 

“We were just talking.” 

“ _ Really?”  _ Penelope scoffs. “She was flirting with you.” 

Josie rolls her eyes, “It’s called  _ talking,  _ I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” 

Not even ten minutes later, they’re stumbling into Josie’s dorm, “I wasn’t flirting back.” Josie says, voice her breathy as her mouth falls open, chest falling and rising rapidly as 

Penelope pulls her tie loose and throws it haphazardly behind her. Penelope pauses for a second at Josie’s words, and Josie relaxes a bit when she sees the amusement over Penelope’s features. 

Affection rises in Josie after that, her throat tightening, and her heart seeming to beat ten times faster, nearly beating itself out of her chest. It’s dangerous territory- just like the territory from last night. She swallows, licking her lips, not sure what to expect from Penelope. Penelope lunges forward, crashing their lips together, and it may just be the alcohol, but Josie swears if she died now, she’d die happy.

They refuse to part, their mouths fused together as they move towards Josie’s bed. Josie pushes Penelope back, gently guiding her to the mattress, falling until Josie is straddling her hips. Penelope whispers her name like it’s the last thing Penelope ever wants to say, and deepens the kiss before she draws back to suck hard on Josie’s bottom lip. Their heavy breathing and alcohol mix as Penelope’s sinks her teeth into Josie’s lip, pulling on it. 

Josie’s grip on Penelope’s hair tightens as she pulls, swallowing Penelope’s groan. Penelope shifts them suddenly so that she’s the one on top of Josie. The ache between her legs intensifies when Penelope’s fingers move expertly over the buttons of Josie’s uniform, pulling it open to reveal her bra. Josie rocks beneath Penelope, her breath hitching at the gasp that spills into her mouth as her thighs press against her core, but Josie was only shifting to shrug out of her shirt. Before Penelope reaches to unclasp her bra, Josie is pulling Penelope’s shirt off over her head, tan skin flashing free, then drags her hand down the free skin, tearing the buttons free when her fingers reach the waistband of Penelope’s pants. She doesn’t waste time after that, hands trailing up Penelope’s sides, thumbing her hips, her rib cage, and finally her breasts. She watches as Penelope’s head drops back, eyes shut and lips parted as she inhales in rapid, shallow breaths. Josie lowers her head, pressing kisses beneath Penelope’s jaw, along her throat, her collarbone and shivering at the way Penelope’s hum of approval seemed to vibrate everywhere.

One of Penelope’s hands disappears into the wild mess of Josie’s brown hair, the other falling down, leaving a fiery path down Josie’s stomach and hovers over the waistband of Josie’s pants. Josie’s eyes snap open, her breath catching as Penelope slips her hand lower. 

Josie bites off her moan into the curve of Penelope’s neck, trying to not seem so desperate for Penelope’s touch, but Penelope starts to pull away her hand, and Josie’s hips rise before she can stop, and nips at Penelope’s neck in response. Penelope dips her hand down again, sliding it beneath her underwear and moving. She’s  _ so  _ close to where Josie needs her to be, and- Penelope’s pulling her hand out of her pants to trail up her stomach again. Josie groans. Is Penelope seriously playing around with her right now?

Penelope freezes, looking at Josie with a look that Josie can’t decipher from her. “I, uh… What’s wrong?” Josie asks after a few beats of silence falls between them. 

“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” Penelope eventually mumbles, climbing off Josie and sitting up. If Josie didn’t know any better, she would have said that Penelope looks a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. “I just…  _ fuck. _ ”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.” 

“No, it’s not okay. I just...” 

“Shush, it’s okay. Do you need anything?”

“No…” A beat, then a small voice. “I think I might throw up.” 

Josie shoots up at that, grabbing the trash can next to her bed, holding it for the girl next to her, and Penelope laughs a bit, “I don’t think Skele-gro and FireWhiskey is a good combination.” She grumbles. The two of them let out small laughs at that, and Josie finds herself tracing small circles on Penelope’s back. 

After Josie gives Penelope some water, Penelope starts to insist that she’s feeling better and kisses Josie again. It takes everything in Josie to pull away, “You don’t have to do this because you think I want you to,” Josie tells her, stopping Penelope’s hands from wandering. “I want you to be comfortable.” 

“I’m completely fine.” Penelope tells her stubbornly. 

“No, you’re not.” 

“I am.” 

“Are not.” 

Penelope rolls her eyes, and lies down on Josie’s bed dramatically, staring at the ceiling, “Okay, fine. I’m drunk as fuck.” 

“I know. I am, too.” 

“I’m high, too.” Penelope whispers, as if it’s a big secret. 

“I am- no, I’m not high.” 

Josie swears it sounds like Penelope’s on the verge of tears as she speaks again, “Sorry I fucked up tonight.” 

“You didn’t.” 

“I feel like I did.” 

Josie lays down next to her, itching to be closer to the shorter girl. She has no idea how to communicate to Penelope that she didn’t fuck anything up. They were at a party that had plenty of alcohol and weed to go around, and Penelope really thinks Josie is going to hold it against her when she’s done just as much as her? 

“Then I guess I fucked up, too.” 

Penelope rolls over then, resting on her elbow as she stares at Josie, “You didn’t.” 

Josie finds herself nodding, although she doesn’t believe her. She can’t help but lean in for a quick kiss, pulling away before she can get too carried away. Her fingers trace over one of the scars on Penelope’s stomach. She’s seen them hundreds of times, she didn’t touch them until Penelope pointed out that they don’t hurt, and Josie’s never had the courage to ask what caused them. 

“What happened?”

Penelope inhales sharply, but then shrugs as if it’s nothing. “My father. He used to have a temper and took it out on me a few times.” 

The words anger Josie, and she bites the inside of her cheek. She hates the image of Penelope being hurt put into her head, and if she was in a better state of mind, she’d be trying to prod more information out of the girl, but she can only come up with one simple question, “But not anymore?” 

“No. I’m a lot bigger now.” Penelope says  nonchalantly, as if that excuses anything her father has done. 

“Still…” 

“Please don’t set him on fire.” Penelope jokes, a goofy grin on her lips. 

“No promises.” 

“He kind of deserves it,” Penelope whispers, grabbing a hold of Josie’s hand on her stomach. “Being set on fire.” Josie agrees silently, although she’s sure her opinion doesn’t matter much in the situation. “Can I stay here tonight?” 

“Of course.” Josie whispers back, this time into the dark as Penelope finds her way into Josie’s arms, and Josie wonders if Penelope will be there when she wakes up. 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sorry i was gone for longer than usual. i have summer classes/other things going on, but im back for now. Things have been super crazy lately, so don't ever fucking forget: 
> 
> BLACK LIVES MATTER.
> 
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> 
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> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-0KC83vYfVQ-2freQveH43PWxuab2uWDEGolzrNoIks/mobilebasic
> 
> https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-dGBvXHznJqBOIs55QYynBfZBQX1sZS6m7ldcvUtHnw/mobilebasic
> 
> IF YOU WANT TO DONATE BUT CAN NOT, WATCH THIS VIDEO. allow the ad that pops up to play, so if you have ad blockers, turn them off. 
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> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM&feature=youtu.be

When Penelope wakes up, she nearly falls out of the bed when she’s greeted by a sleeping Josie Saltzman. Images of the previous night flash into her head, the way Josie had dragged her up to her dorm, to the way they kissed and…  _ Talked.  _ The idea completely baffles her. Since when do her and Josie  _ talk  _ like that? The worst part is, Penelope remembers believing she would have talked to Josie all night if she weren’t so tired. She’s not sure if they’re there yet. The two of them can barely stand to be around each other for more than an hour, without it completely exploding in Penelope’s face. Josie looks so peaceful, a stark contrast from how stressed she’s been over the past few weeks.

They’re impossibly close, as if they refused to stray apart from each other in the middle of the night. Their legs are still tangled together- a sign that Penelope doesn’t like to look into, and when she locates her shirt a few feet away on the floor, she’s ready to slip out of bed and leave before Josie can wake up herself. 

However, when Penelope tries to move, Josie’s arm that’s slung across her stomach pulls her even closer- if that was even  _ possible _ , and although it’s very inviting to stay in bed with the other girl, she doesn’t think Josie would be very happy to wake up and find Penelope there with her. Penelope sighs a bit, and observes the room some more. It seems that Lizzie and Josie’s other roommate never returned last night, or the two of them would have been woken up by Lizzie’s screeching. Judging by the faint light peeking through the curtains by the window, Penelope assumes they’re in the very early hours of the morning. 

The idea makes Penelope want to wake up Josie and ask her to go to the kitchen and steal some food, then take a walk across school grounds, but she can’t bring herself to wake up the sleeping girl beside her. Josie mumbles something incoherently, causing Penelope to tense up, but after a minute or so, it’s clear Josie tends to talk in her sleep. Penelope laughs to herself quietly when she notices that the girl is also drooling. 

Penelope stays. Lets herself stay in Josie’s arms, soaking in the way they make her feel warm and protected, and stares at the ceiling. Despite the fact that she drank and smoked last night, and the slight pounding in her head, she feels like she slept surprisingly well, and has a feeling it’s because of the girl next to her. Josie shifts some more, and rests her head on Penelope’s shoulder. Penelope finds herself staring at Josie, swallowing nervously as she looks away. She’s not sure  _ what  _ is happening between the two of them now, and the idea of talking about it when Josie wakes up is enough to scare her into not bringing it up. At all. 

After another fifteen minutes of Penelope telling herself to stare at the ceiling rather than Josie sleeping, and her absentmindedly playing with Josie’s hand, Josie finally wakes up. She seems surprised when she comprehends that Penelope is still there, and pulls her arm away as if Penelope burned her. Penelope tries her best to not feel offended. They’re still pressed together, even after the way Josie yanks her arm back. 

A few seconds pass, and Penelope settles back into the sheets when she decides Josie isn’t going to kick her out just yet. Penelope decides to ignore the way her breath hitches when Josie gets over her initial shock, Josie’s fingers tracing over her hip. Josie’s eyes flutter back shut, and Penelope stops breathing momentarily when Josie’s thumb runs over a particular sensitive spot on her side. Josie doesn’t seem to notice. 

Penelope hates the way she reacts to the touch, wanting to find an excuse to stay next to Josie for the whole day. She can’t come up with an excuse that Josie would ever agree with, or a way for them to stay without ever being interrupted. 

She rolls onto her side, facing Josie fully. She finds herself leaning in closer, although she’s not exactly sure  _ why _ . Their foreheads bump together, and Penelope winces a bit, about to apologize, but Josie is shifting again, and their noses brush. All Penelope has to do is work out the courage and press their lips together, to pull Josie closer. She finds herself biting her lower lip- a nervous habit she’s been trying to break for years. 

She ends up pulling back, deciding to admire Josie’s face, because she’s not sure when she’ll be able to see her like this again.

“You drool in your sleep.” Penelope comments. 

“Huh?” Josie replies sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. “Sorry… Do you feel better?”

“Yeah.” The two of them don’t move or say anything after that. Josie’s busy tracing absentmindedly on Penelope’s skin, and Penelope’s too busy memorizing the way Josie looks after she wakes up to be afraid of the fact that it’s all  _ new  _ and intimate- something Penelope has never really felt with the Gryffindor- until now. There’s no whispers between the two of them, or any bickering, it’s just the two of them enjoying each other’s company, and Penelope likes it. Once she finally works up the courage to run her fingers through Josie’s hair, and Josie doesn’t say anything, she begins to play with it. For a while, it feels like being next to Josie like this is the only thing that matters, with the sheets pooled at their hips and the sun illuminating half of Josie’s face.

If she had stayed with Josie like that for any longer, she’s sure she would have drifted off to sleep again.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end.

Josie clears her throat awkwardly, and Penelope waits for her to mumble out an excuse how they should both get ready for the day and go their separate ways. It never comes, and just as Penelope’s about to say it herself, her and Josie practically fly out of the bed.

“Jo, rise and shine! I went to the kitchen and got you some food, because I’m sure your headache is worse than mine, and,” Lizzie shuts the door behind her, twirling around with a tray of food in her hands, “Oh, my  _ god!”  _ She screeches. 

“Lizzie!” Josie yelps, pulling the sheets over the two of them. Penelope knows she shouldn’t be laughing- she really shouldn’t with the look of fear and disgust on Lizzie’s face, and the way Josie’s face is burning in embarrassment, but it’s  _ funny.  _ She hides herself behind Josie, laughing into her shoulder.

“Why is the leech in here?!” Lizzie demands, her voice still three octaves too high. 

“Don’t just stand there, get out!” Josie shouts back, her voice cracking a bit. 

Lizzie manages to move then, making a point of slamming the door shut loudly as she leaves. Penelope imagines that she’s waiting on the other side of the door, seething. The two of them don’t move right away, and Josie gives Penelope a look of annoyance, only causing Penelope to laugh some more. They could have been caught in a more... compromising position, and Josie knows it. 

Penelope finally moves then, missing the warmth of Josie immediately, picking up her shirt from the floor. Josie stays in her spot, pouting. 

“What’s wrong?” Penelope asks, and Josie shakes her head.

“Nothing. I was just thinking.” She answers, and they’re rudely interrupted by Lizzie- who is still on the other side of the door, of course.

“Hurry the fuck up!”

After making sure she’s properly dressed and that she’s gathered all of her belongings, she mumbles a goodbye to Josie, complentates if she should give Josie a hug or something before leaving, because they end up just standing in the middle of the room and staring at each other dumbly. Lizzie starts shouting again, something about reporting Penelope’s presence to the headmistress, and even worse- Her and Josie’s mother. Penelope says a quick goodbye after that, and ignores the look Lizzie sends her way when she leaves. 

She goes straight back to her dorm, with every intention of waking Hope up and telling her about her night, and maybe ask her trustworthy friend for some advice. When she opens the door to her dorm, she suddenly understands Lizzie Saltzman's reaction thirty minutes ago as she walks into something she never wants to see again. In her defense, she wasn’t doing  _ that  _ with Josie. 

“Hope, what the fuck?!” Penelope shouts, slamming the door shut. Is everyone trying to get laid this morning? Thankfully, Landon doesn’t take as much time as Penelope did to leave, him leaving as quickly as possible, staring at his feet the whole way. Penelope feels kind of bad for the Hufflepuff, but hey, he brought it on himself. 

She storms back into her- thankfully, Landon free room just as Hope finishes putting on her pants. Penelope decides that they never need to speak of what she just witnessed, launching into an explanation of what had happened with Josie last night and this morning, Hope looking more and more confused the more Penelope explains.

“You went to a party on a school night?” 

“Is that seriously all you’re getting from this?” Penelope practically scolds. Hope may be a Mikaelson, one of the most powerful families in the world, and she passes all of her classes without even trying, but holy shit, she can be stupid. 

“I don’t get why you’re so surprised about what happened with Josie, that’s what happens when people like each other.” 

Penelope chokes on air, and runs her fingers through her hair nervously. “I don’t like Josie,” She winces at the look Hope gives her, and corrects herself, “I  _ can’t  _ like her, not now with the Tournament, I would just be distracting her, and…”

“I know this time of the year is hard for you, Penelope,” Hope replies softly. “But you can’t shut down because of it, or make yourself miss out on something that could be really good for you.” 

“I don’t know. The past two years-” 

“Well,  _ I  _ know. I know that you like Josie, and you’re too stubborn to admit that because you’re afraid that she’ll change her mind about you, or that something bad will happen to her- even before the Tournament was brought up. It’s okay to feel those things, Penelope. Josie’s a good person, all you have to do is talk to her.” 

Penelope stays silent, trying her best take in Hope’s words without feeling too frustrated. Hope’s made it look so easy to move on after what happened to her parents. Penelope knows that’s not the case, it took months before Hope even started to seem like herself again, but she had the support of her family, and then she found Landon. Hope’s  _ happy  _ with Landon, even after everything that’s happened. She manages to bite down the comment, and sighs instead as she flops onto her bed. 

“She doesn’t like me back.” 

Hope hits her with a pillow, “You’re fucking stupid. Just talk to her. Tell her how you feel.” 

“You never told Josie when you had that crush on her during our third year.” 

Hope gasps, more dramatically than Penelope had anticipated, even going as far as feigning offense. “It only lasted a week!” 

“It lasted four months!” Penelope manages to tug the pillow out of Hope’s hands before Hope can hit her with it again. 

“Are you  _ jealous?”  _

Penelope scoffs. She  _ never  _ gets jealous, not even when she watched the way Jade was flirting with Josie last night- she had only kindly pointed it out. Okay, she had definitely gotten jealous, but jealous of Hope? That’s the funniest thing Hope’s ever said. 

“Because of you?” Penelope scoffs. “Never.” 

Maya barges in at that moment, looking the worst Penelope has ever seen her, and doesn’t hesitate to comment, “You look like shit.” 

“Fuck off, Park.” 

Penelope laughs, watching as Maya flops onto her own bed dramatically, hiding herself under the covers, away from the sunlight pouring into their room. Penelope decides it’s time for her to clean up and not look like she’s spent the night drinking, taking the fastest shower of her life. When she’s back in the dorm, looking at herself in the mirror after she puts on the Mikaelson shirt, Hope only smiles. 

“Told you that you’d look good as a Mikaelson.” 

“When’s the wedding?” Penelope jokes, and Hope rolls her eyes at that. After ten more minutes of bickering and goofing off, her and Hope decide that they’re starving and start making their way to the dining hall, hoping that the food will be ready for them. By the time they do make it to the dining hall, it’s slightly more crowded than usual, and Penelope tells herself it's fine when she can’t spot Josie. Then has to remind herself that Josie’s probably locked up in her room dealing with the wrath of Lizzie. 

After she manages to eat a stack of pancakes, along with two cannolis- since when were  _ those  _ available during breakfast? Hope is looking mildly impressed and disturbed by her appetite, she realizes that the interviews that Josie had participated in yesterday are already published in the Daily Prophet. She spits out some orange juice, unfortunately for the first year sitting in front of her when she reads over the interview, wondering how the interviewer has gotten his hands on the information. 

_ Josie Saltzman is full of surprises, just like her relationship with the Minister of Magic’s daughter, Penelope Park.  _

Penelope can’t help but crumble up the paper in her hands and is about to tear it into shreds when Hope pulls it out of her hands. She’s met the person who interviewed Josie several times over the past few years whenever she’s dragged along with her father to his office. Ryan Clarke does nothing but spew lies in his articles, and no matter how many times he’s been proven to be a liar and a fraud, her father still deals with him. 

Hope reads the article herself, and Penelope yanks it back to read over it again. There’s a mention of Josie’s father being a muggle, then a section about how rude Josie was to him once he asked for more information on her mother, although he refuses to go into detail about  _ that.  _ There’s only two sentences on the Triwizard Tournament, him ending the article with her and Josie’s so called relationship. 

Penelope doesn’t care how many times Ryan Clarke has lied about her. She’s more concerned about what Josie will think when, or if she’ll ever read it. She rips up the paper after that, with every intention of storming her way back to the Gryffindor Common Room to check on Josie. 

“I’ll see you later.” She tells Hope, standing up suddenly. 

She leaves the dining hall without saying anything else. She’s on her way to the Gryffindor Common Room, running up the stairs two at a time. She trips on one, and crashes into her father’s office. 

“I told you to be careful with her!” 

He offers to help her up, but Penelope pushes his hand away. It isn’t the first time that he has Apparated her into his office without a heads up. She dusts herself off, and observes their company. She’s a bit relieved to see that there’s only two other people with them, two men who Penelope recognizes from the case with her mother. She suddenly feels sick, something he must have seen coming, because he hands her a trash can. Her father stays silent, watching her carefully as Penelope decides if she should yell at him, punch him, or both. She hasn’t seen him in  _ months,  _ and he only reaches out to her when he hears that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. Now he decides he wants to see her, during the most inconvenient time? 

Once he decides that she’s going to do neither of those things-  _ yet,  _ he gestures for her to sit down. Penelope hesitates, but sits down anyways. She still feels a little lightheaded, and decides that standing up right now isn’t the best thing right now. He pushes a cup of water towards her, and she accepts it gratefully. 

“Leave us.” He commands the two men behind them, and they obey him almost immediately. 

He glares at one of the men next to him, “I told you, we need to warn her when we do this.” 

His office is the same as it was the last time Penelope saw it, nearly spotless aside from the neat stack of papers on his desk. He hands her a cup of water, and offers a tight smile. “I’m sorry for no warning, but it was urgent, Penelope.” 

“So you pulled me out of school without warning?!” Penelope spits at him. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time he’s managed to Apparate her without warning. There were those two times last year, and he’s lucky that nobody has caught her disappearing suddenly. 

Apparently, being the Minster meant that he can do whatever he wants- a fact that Penelope hates. 

“I was going to ask Headmistress Forbes if I could stop by, but I know you don’t like it when I come to visit you on school grounds. This  _ is  _ urgent, Penelope. I need your help regarding the case of Malachai Parker.” 

“You couldn’t just leave a letter? Like you usually do?” Penelope snaps, ignoring the way her father was able to drop the name of the man that killed her mother so casually. “Send me back.” 

“Some things can’t be talked about over a letter, Penny.” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“Penny…” He goes to reach her hand, something that would have comforted her a few years ago, but it doesn’t soothe her anymore. “I know things have been hard since your mother passed, and I wish that I could just take away the pain you’re feeling from that-” 

“Dad, shut up,” Peneloep blinks furiously, hoping it’ll hide away her tears. It’s barely been two years since her mother died, and her father has done nothing to help her. Instead, he just dived deeper into his work. “Mom didn’t just die, she was  _ killed- _ ” 

“By Malachai Parker, I know.” 

“He’s in Azkaban where he belongs. You made sure he was put there, after he killed her and Hope’s parents. I know. Can I go back to Hogwarts now? I’m supposed to be in class any second, and my friends will be looking for me. Let-” 

“You need to listen to me,” He cuts her off, his voice low. “Whatever you see in the Prophet, you can not believe it, okay? Promise me.” 

“You couldn't just tell me in a letter?” Penelope asks again. Her father has only gotten better at distancing himself over the years, so why should now be any different? She much rather deal with her disappointment with him alone in her room after reading one of his letters than right now. 

“Penelope, you need to realize that I’m only trying to look out for you. How could you possibly be mad at me for that?” 

“I was gone for months, and you didn’t care.” 

He slams his hands on the desk suddenly, anger written across his face. He takes a moment to pull himself together, but his voice shakes, “ _ You  _ refused to be found.” 

Penelope bites the inside of her cheek. She had spent weeks avoiding anybody she knew, and that meant making sure she wasn’t found by her father, or Hope for that matter. It was hard to believe that her father was actually offering to help her when he wouldn’t do anything to support her. She knows that her father claims that he’s doing his best to mend their relationship, but Penelope could care less. 

His face shifts, from anger to confusion as he zeros in on her shirt, “What the hell is that?” He whispers so quietly, Penelope almost doesn’t hear him. She swallows roughly, knowing exactly what he is talking about. She’s wearing the Mikaelson shirt Freya had given her a few weeks ago. 

He stares at the crest, and Penelope waits for him to explode with anger, but he never does. Instead, he gives her a forced smile, one that has Penelope preparing for his next words. “I need your help,” He repeats. “The day your mother died, that’s all I need.”

“No.” 

“Just the memory of what happened that day.” 

“I said no.” 

“Okay. Fine,” He answers, rummaging through his desk. Penelope watches, wondering if he actually thinks that whatever file he is about to pull out will convince her, but she’s surprised when he pulls out a small vial. Penelope immediately knows what it is. She glances towards the Pensive stored away in the corner of his office, wondering how many times he had rewatched the memory. How many hours he spent, locking himself up and wishing he could change what had happened that night. “If you don’t want to help, I will remind you what happened and how important it is that I get your memory.” 

“Dad… You know that I miss mom, but this is… this is just crazy.” She stands up, yanking the vial out of his hands. “Sitting in your office all day and rewatching this isn’t going to bring her back, okay?” She starts raising her voice, because she doesn’t think she could ever put her disappointment into words. 

“Penelope-” 

“No! Mom is dead! And you should have been there to protect her, but you weren’t! Now she’s gone and it’s your fault! You can’t take it back now just because you miss her!”

“This is not my fault.” 

“You knew he was trying to kill muggles, and you… you  _ let  _ him. You didn’t stop him until it hurt us.” She glances at the vial in her hand, then slams it to the ground, flinching at the way it shatters, releasing the memory. 

“Penelope...” His voice is small, and she can see the tears in her father's eyes, but she tells herself that he  _ deserves  _ it, after spending two years doing next to nothing. 

Maybe she should feel more guilty about it, about ripping the last thing her father has of her mother away, but she can’t find it in herself to feel bad for him. How could she? He left her and her mom when they needed him the most. 

She should leave, should run out the door and find her way back to Hogwarts, or communicate with Hope. She just knows that she needs to leave. She’s grabbing for her wand when she’s blasted off her feet, falling back into a chair. Ropes fly around her wrists, and there’s a man bursting into the door- one Penelope recognizes. She only grew up with Marcus helping her whenever her father took her to work. 

“Get the memory.” He demands, pushing Marcus forward. “I don’t care what it takes.” 

“Dad, please,” Penelope begs. “I don’t want to do this. Please don’t do this, I’ll help, but not like-”

“It’s too late to offer your help,” He cuts her off, voice cold. “I told you I would do this the hard way if you didn’t cooperate.” 

Her father leaves her alone with Marcus, and Penelope refuses to look at him as he takes away her wand. He doesn’t speak, and Penelope stares at her feet. 

She’s suddenly hit with a wave of memories. Flashes of her walking through the doors of Hogwarts for the first time. Meeting Hope at that holiday party her parents had dragged her to. The first time she saw Josie Saltzman, sitting in front of hundreds of students, the Sorting Hat calling out Gryffindor with confidence. Her waltzing into the Mikaelson house to hold Nik for the first time. Her first kiss with some hufflepuff boy that was too eager. Her pushing Hope into the Great Lake after a Quidditch game.

It stops suddenly, and Penelope’s gasping for air, tugging at the ropes around her wrists. “Marcus,  _ please.  _ I know he told you to do this, but-” 

“I have to.” 

“No, you don’t!” 

Marcus looks guilty, but raises his wand again. 

More memories, more vivid than before. Josie laughing at something Penelope said. Josie wearing the Slytherin tie. Josie kissing her for the first time after Penelope won the Quidditch Cup last year. Josie giving her a pout. The two of them playing cards in the Infirmary. Josie, Josie, Josie.

They stop more suddenly before, and Penelope feels a faint throbbing in her head. She’s sweating and shivering all at once. She tugs at the ropes again, more desperately this time, ignoring the pain as they dig into her skin. Her father and his coworkers have lost their minds, and she needs to get out of there as soon as possible. 

Marcus looks at her, confused. “Who is the girl you keep seeing?” 

Penelope’s heart drops into her stomach at the question, and she feels more sick than before. She knows that he’s asking about Josie, but refuses to admit it. As far as Marcus knows, Josie could just be some random girl Penelope is seeing.

“Who?” Penelope rasps out.

“The Saltzman girl. The one who got chosen for the Triwizard Cup. Josette, right?” 

“Why does it matter?”

Marcus shows no emotion, and turns to leave her. He leaves her alone in the room without any warning, but the ropes around her wrists leave suddenly, and she grabs her wand, running out into the hall after him. By the time she reaches the hall, he’s already gone. The entire hallway is empty, not a single clue to where Marcus or her father could have possibly gone. She doesn’t want to linger any longer than she already has, and starts running down the hall. The last time she ran through the halls was years ago, and everything seems smaller now. 

She remembers what her father had always told her when he had spent a summer teaching Penelope how to Apparate. It was only a few months after her mother had passed away.  _ The key is to think of a place that makes you feel safe. I only want you to do this when you feel like you’re in danger.  _

Apparition is one of the more dangerous things that they learn in their lifetimes. Hogwarts only offers it to students once they turn seventeen, and her father made her promise she wouldn’t let anybody else know she’s mastered the trick at only fourteen- she’d just get herself and him in trouble. 

Penelope thinks of Hogwarts, of her friends in the Slytherin Common Room, or practising Quidditch with Hope, and Josie squeezes her way into her thoughts. 

She can’t breathe, her eyesight becoming blurry as she starts feeling iron bands tightening around her chest, and feels like her eardrums are about to burst. The pain is less than a second, and she’s back on her feet in her dorm, no not her dorm. She blinks her eyes a few times before she realizes she is not in her dorm. She’s not even in a Slytherin dorm, for that matter. 

She’s brought back to where she was this morning- the safest she’s felt in months. 

Josie’s dorm. 

  
  



	9. Chapter NIne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all righty i am back, sorry for the waits in between chapters getting longer than usual :/ life has no been super fun recently, BUT that being said, hopefully I'll be updating normally again. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Penelope!” Josie yelps when she turns around and notices the presence of the other girl. Penelope covers her eyes almost immediately, tripping over the chest Lizzie had left lying in the middle of the room. “You can open your eyes,” Josie tells the Slytherin, trying her best to not laugh. “I’m dressed.” 

“Sorry,” Penelope grumbles, still keeping her eyes covered. “I was trying to Apparate back to my dorm, and huh… Obviously, I miscalculated.” 

If Penelope were anybody else, Josie would be telling them that it’s practically illegal to apparate onto school grounds, not to mention that they need a license. The laugh dies in her throat when she remembers that they don’t even learn how to apparate until their last year of school, and there’s no way that Penelope has mastered the complicated spell already. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Josie asks quietly as she approaches Penelope, kneeling next to her, pulling Penelope’s hands away from her face. 

“Sorry,” Penelope whispers, wiping away her tears. “I have to go.” 

Josie frowns, grabbing a hold of Penelope’s wrist gently. Penelope looks paler than usual, and looks exhausted, as if she’s spent the whole day running. Her skin is cold and sweaty, and Penelope seems to tremble under her touch. Josie doesn’t press Penelope for any information, but grabs a blanket and wraps it around the smaller girl’s shoulder and offers her a cup of water. 

Penelope accepts both gratefully, not ever meeting Josie’s eyes. They sit in silence for at least an hour, Josie waiting for some color to return to her face, and for Penelope to open up herself. Josie knows that there’s no way that her mother hasn’t been alerted by Penelope apparating back onto school grounds from wherever she was- she’s more confused as to why her mother hasn’t stormed into her dorm yet. 

“Do you want me to get the headmistress?” 

“You mean your mom?” Penelope questions, a small smile ghosting her lips at the look Josie gives her, “Lizzie isn’t exactly subtle about it. And my father helped her get the job.” 

“The minister of magic.” 

“Yeah.” 

“I know I can't force you to talk about anything, but if I get my mom, she can help and…” 

“I just need some more time,” Penelope admits. “I have a headache.” Josie tries her best to not seem disappointed at Penelope’s response. Penelope reaches for her hand as if she can sense it. She still doesn’t say anything, but when she scoots to sit closer to her, and takes Josie by complete surprise when she wraps her arms around her neck. Josie hugs her back, closing her eyes as she buries her neck into Penelope’s neck. She waits for Penelope to pull away, or mumble something, but it never comes. 

Instead, Josie just holds her. She just holds her because she’s not sure what else to do. Holds Penelope and wonders if Penelope feels better at the embrace like she does, if she feels comforted and protected. After a while, Penelope leans back slightly- barely enough for Josie to look down at her, and before Josie can whisper anything, Penelope presses closer and kisses her. 

She knows it’s not a good idea, but since when has kissing Penelope ever been a good idea? Penelope kisses her so softly that Josie would have thought she imagined it if she didn’t chase after her lips for more, and Penelope gives it to her. Penelope pulls her closer, and Josie can’t help but press a kiss to Penelope’s cheek. 

“Jo, I…” Penelope huffs in frustration, “I don’t…” 

“It’s okay,” Josie whispers, pressing another kiss to Penelope’s forehead. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” 

Penelope sighs. “I think I should talk to your mom.” 

Josie bites her lip as an attempt to hide her disappointment. She may have gotten her hopes up and hoped that Penelope would want to confide in her, but since when did they do that? They don’t confide in each other and share secrets. They just take and take from each other. 

Josie agrees anyways, deciding to not say anything. Instead, Josie refuses to leave her side the entire time they walk to the office, but she’s stopped by her mother when she tries to walk into her office. Penelope assures her that it’s okay, and Josie sighs in defeat as she agrees to stay in the hall. 

Hope shows up after Josie spends an hour or so waiting, and the two of them only share a few words, mostly about the state Penelope’s in. It’s awkward waiting in the hall with Hope, even though they’re not on bad terms. Hope has always been closer to Lizzie, and with everything happening over the past few weeks, Josie hasn’t been able to find her footing with the Mikaelson, even if she wanted to.

Penelope reappears sometime after that, but before Josie can talk to her, her mother calls her into the office. Penelope gives her a small smile and tells her to go, saying that she’ll see her later. 

Josie bounds up the stairs two at a time, and freezes once she reaches the top of the stairs. 

“Is Penelope going to be okay?” Josie demands before her mother can say anything. 

Her mother hesitates, sighing as she sits down. “She will be. Hope is helping me keep an eye on her.” 

“Did she tell you what happened?” 

“Jo… I know you’re worried about her, and you want to help, but it’s not my place to tell you anything. Give her time and she’ll open up, okay?” 

“Okay.” Josie mumbles, only feeling more guilty by the second. In the back of her mind, she knows that what had happened to Penelope isn’t her fault, but there’s that other voice telling her that she’s wrong, and everything  _ is  _ her fault. From Penelope getting hurt, to the article that Ryan Clarke wrote about them- which  _ seriously,  _ what the fuck was that?

“Hey, you need to cut yourself some slack. You did the right thing bringing her here.” 

“I don’t feel like I did.” 

“Josie. You shouldn’t feel so guilty. You’ve had a lot on your plate recently, and I can’t imagine how much pressure you’ve been feeling right now. It’s okay to feel frustrated and confused, I’m here to help.” 

“I know.” 

Her mother gives her a look, and Josie sighs. She doesn’t know what to tell her mother. That she has no idea where she stands with Penelope? That she hasn’t even been focusing on the tournament, because she can’t find it in herself to care about it the way Alyssa and Jade do? Also because she’s been too focused on Penelope, but that’s a problem for another time, right? She knows that her mother would never judge her for anything, unlike her father, but she still can’t bring herself to mention any of the things flying through her head. It’s always been easier to talk to Lizzie or MG. Even Rafael.

“So,” Her mother starts cautiously, “Is Penelope the girl?” 

“What girl?” 

“The one you were moping about all summer.” 

Josie rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t moping. And no, Penelope’s not that girl. She’s…” 

“A new girl?” 

“There’s no girl, mom.” 

“Okay, I should be worried about a boy, then? You’ve hardly tried to figure anything out for the first task,” Josie must make a face at the mention of a boy taking up all of her time, because her mother lets out a small laugh. “Okay, I’m done asking. You don’t have to tell me anything.” 

“I don’t think Penelope wants anything more than friends,” Josie tells her, trying her best to sound nonchalant. “So we’re just friends. That’s it.” 

She has no idea who she’s trying to convince. Herself or her mother. 

“Either way, Penelope is a great kid and an amazing student.”

“I know.” 

“You should go get some rest.” Her mother prods gently, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

Josie bids her goodnight, although she doesn’t think she can sleep anytime soon after what just happened. She ends up doing homework into the morning that night, not able to sleep at all. 

She tries to find Penelope the next day. And the day after that. And the day after. 

Penelope avoids her for nearly a week. Josie doesn’t cope with Penelope’s sudden absence as well as she had hoped she would. With the first task approaching quicker than ever, the added stress of trying to figure out exactly why Penelope is avoiding her only makes her more uptight. Even with her and Lizzie getting over their argument about Josie even being a part of the tournament, and Lizzie’s newfound, yet strange support in their “relationship”. 

“Hope!” Josie runs after the young Mikaelson, a bit glad to see she’s not still joined at the hip with Penelope. She had wanted to find Penelope alone, but she wasn’t sure where she would go with that conversation. She wants to check in on the Slytherin, but they’ve never really talked, aside from when Penelope had popped into Josie’s room a few days ago. It feels like months, especially when Josie knows that Penelope has been actively avoiding her. 

“Josie, hey?” Hope replies unsurely when she realizes who was calling her. “What’s up?”

“Hey! Uh… has Penelope been acting weird around you?” 

Hope scoffs, “She’s always weird around me.” 

Josie rolls her eyes, wondering if all Slytherin like to act like they’re above everyone else. “You know what I mean. She returned my tie and sweatshirt, and then a few days ago there was that whole thing… She’s been acting weird since, so I didn’t know if-”

“That’s what you wanted, right?”

“What? I just want to know if Penelope’s okay.”

“She’s fine.”

“Hope. I know when you’re lying.”

“Look, Josie, you know I care about you and Penelope, but when it comes to  _ whatever  _ you two are… you need to be careful. She has feelings, too, you know.” 

“I know.” 

“Do you? Doesn’t seem like it.”

Josie sighs. It’s not like her and Penelope have a perfect relationship, but who does? She doesn’t blame Hope for being frustrated with her, because she  _ does  _ have a point. But she can’t get anywhere if Penelope is avoiding her. “I just…” 

“She was in the Hufflepuff common room with Landon and MG last I heard,” Hope says with a small huff. “Look, I have to get to class, and you two need to sort through your shit, okay?” 

Josie nods, “Thank you.” She tells Hope, already running down the hall towards the Hufflepuff Commons. 

It takes her ten minutes to get to the commons, running across what feels like the entire castle to arrive at her destination. Thankfully, when she makes it there, there’s a few younger students who open the door for her before running off in the other direction. The interaction makes Josie frown a little bit. Most of the first years have gone out of their way to avoid her, because apparently her name being called for the Tournament immediately means she’s some sort of threat. 

When she gets inside, she only sees Landon, MG, and Rafael. Her disappointment must be evident, because Rafael gives her a small, comforting smile, “Penelope’s not here anymore, if that’s who you’re looking for.” 

“Where is she?” 

The three of them shrug, and she shrugs as she falls onto the couch next to Rafael, resting her head on his shoulder. He looks at her, still smiling as he laughs, “Girl trouble?” He asks. 

Josie groans into his shoulder dramatically. Does Penelope even qualify as girl trouble? They would have to be dating, or Josie would have to be crushing on the slytherin for it to be  _ girl trouble _ , right? Not the fact that Josie has been worried about Penelope for the past three days, and Penelope has been successfully ignoring her. Which means that Penelope has been skipping classes, doesn’t show up in the Dining Halls for meals, and hasn’t even been seen in the halls. Josie even tried going to the Quidditch Pitch in search for the other girl, but no luck. It’s nice to know that people have at least  _ seen  _ her. 

“No.” 

“You sure?” 

“She’s been ignoring me. But I didn’t  _ do  _ anything wrong. At least she told me I didn’t but now I’m starting to think that I fucked up somehow, and… It sucks, Raf. I just want to talk to her and make sure she’s okay and-” 

“Jo, no offense,” MG cuts in with a small laugh, “That sounds a lot like girl troubles.” 

She looks from Raf to MG, hoping she doesn’t look so annoyed, “Penelope is not  _ girl troubles _ ,” Josie insists. “She’s just… She’s Penelope.” 

“Penelope can be girl troubles.” MG offers, and Josie groans again. 

Landon comes back, shoving himself between her and MG, ripping open a small box. “Do you want any?” He asks. Josie and Rafael stare at the box of chocolates in front of them. Rafael shrugs before taking a few pieces, and Josie grabs one as well. 

Twenty minutes later, after the four of them finish the box, Josie is ranting with Rafael’s head in her lap, listening to MG as he continues to rant about Lizzie. He makes the mistake of mentioning Penelope sending Josie down out of her rant, spending ten minutes talking about Penelope’s eyes. 

The four of them pause, staring at each other stupidly, then Josie, Rafael, and MG turn their attention to Landon. 

The hufflepuff immediately grows nervous under their stares, sinking further into the couch. 

MG looks at Josie pointedly, “You’ve been talking about Penelope way too much.” Josie gasps at the accusation, because she was  _ barely  _ talking about Penelope. She had mentioned her once or twice, and she  _ did  _ go on that rant about how green her eyes are, but that was nothing compared to the rant MG went on about Lizzie. 

“You’re the one who won’t shut up about my sister!” 

MG gasps, “I am talking about her the normal amount!” 

Her and MG start bickering some more, only making Rafael laugh. The three of them are too busy to notice Landon frowning at their argument as he looks at the empty box before carelessly tossing it to the side, and showing the three of them a card victoriously. 

The three of them look at him, then at the card, which was given to him by a sixth year. There’s a love note written in the card, along with her picture, and MG and Rafael start to laugh, mentioning something about Hope not approving. 

Josie takes the card from Landon, and nearly chokes on the amount of perfume that radiates from it. Clearly, the girl wanted to impress Landon. For whatever reason. She decides to not focus much on that, demanding answers from him. She asks him if he feels any different, and he only shrugs, and then when she asks about the girl that gave him the chocolates, he scoffs. 

“I would  _ never  _ do that to Hope, I love her,” He insists, shoving the card back into her hands when Josie tries to give it back, “It’s not my fault she gave me chocolate.” 

Josie rolls her eyes, whacking Landon on the head with the card. “She laced it with a love potion, you moron.” 

“How was I supposed to know?! MG always talks about Lizzie like that, and we all know you and Penelope are together, and-” 

“Oh, my god,” Josie gasps, only confusing Landon. “Landon, I can’t see Penelope like this.” 

“Why? She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?” 

“No! She’s  _ not,  _ which is exactly why I can’t see her right now. What happens if she comes back? Oh, god, this is…”

“Josie, if you see her, just keep quiet and stare at her or something. Like you usually do,” He advises her, which is probably the worst advice she’s heard from him- surprisingly. He pulls out a picture of him with Hope and Penelope- Josie doesn’t question why he has it in his pocket, or when it was taken because she’s taken aback by how big Penelope’s smile is in the picture. Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of sadness hits her, because she doesn’t think she’s ever made Penelope like that. “Annnnd you’re crying. Okay, uh, let's go see Madam Promfrey to see if she can do something.” 

“I’m going to find Lizzie!” MG shouts suddenly, storming out of the room before anybody can stop him. Josie gives Rafael a look, and he hops up, leaving in search of MG. 

“At least the potion is only amplifying feelings…?” Landon questions. “MG’s been in love with Lizzie since our fourth year.” 

“I am going to kill you,” Josie tells him through her tears, “I can’t believe I’m crying over Penelope. I haven’t seen her in days, and I just… I just miss her, but she hates me.” 

“She doesn’t hate you,” He tells her, which he seems to quickly regret. “Okay, uh, let’s go.” He’s ushering her out of the Hufflepuff Common room, and practically drags her to the infirmary. By the time they get there, thank god she’s stopped crying and the infirmary is empty, without Madame Pomfrey in sight. 

Josie practically storms into her office with Landon in tow, and they find the old woman sorting through some things.

“There’s something wrong with me.” Josie tells Madame Pomfrey, and the old woman stops her work, looking over at her and Landon. She seems shocked that the two of them have found each other’s company, but says nothing of it. 

“You are seventeen years old, there is nothing wrong with you, Miss Saltzman.” She practically scolds her. 

Josie sighs, “No, not like that! I meant, uh… I can’t stop talking about Pe-  _ somebody.  _ I can’t stop talking about them.” 

She turns back to the equipment she is cleaning, “It’s called love, sweetheart.” 

“I haven’t been able to stop talking about them since I was with the boys, but after we all had some chocolate, even MG was talking about Lizzie more than he usually does, it was weird,” Josie explains, and Pomfrey interest spikes again. “Landon accidentally gave us all chocolate laced with love potion.”

Pomfrey looks like she’s trying not to laugh at Josie’s concern, but when she sees Landon’s guilty expression, the smile fades. Love Potions rarely last as long as most people want them to, but in Josie’s case, she can't wait for it to wear off. “You and your friends got into some love potion, miss. It’ll wear off eventually. It always does.” 

“You don’t understand,” Josie argues, “I would make a fool of myself if I went out like this, and I really don’t want to. You don’t want the Hogwarts Champion making a fool of the school, do you? The first task is tomorrow morning, and it could still be affecting me then.” 

She doesn’t look convinced until Landon pipes up, “She cries everytime she looks at this picture, and I can’t get her to stop.” 

Pomfrey sighs. “Sit down, I’ll cook something up for you.”

Josie sends Landon away after that, accepting his apology so she can be alone. She spends the next twenty minutes ranting about Penelope,  _ again,  _ as she waits for Pomfrey to finish whatever potion she is making. She’s careful to never mention Penelope’s name out loud, because for some reason, Josie’s afraid that if she adds Penelope’s name to the mix, it’ll only make what she’s feeling more real.

“Everyone thinks she’s just some smug bitch like all Slytherins, but she’s really really sweet, and attentive, and-” Josie shuts up abruptly when another student walks in, looking like they just got into a fight with an Acromantula. Josie shivers at the idea- nobody wants to deal with a giant spider. 

Pomfrey comes out of her office, ordering the other student to sit down quickly, and hands them some water before walking back over to Josie, handing her a small vial, “Drink this and the effects should wear off in a few minutes, but with all due respect Miss Saltzman, maybe you should just tell Miss Park how you really feel.” 

Josie frowns. “I wasn’t talking about Penelope, I didn’t even say her name.” 

The old woman just smiles, “You didn’t have to. I have a feeling she feels the same, but what do I know? I’m just some old nurse,” Josie starts to ponder her words, “Now, out.” Pomfrey orders, and Josie obliges, leaving the infirmary quickly. She drinks the content of the vial, even though she feels like throwing up after. 

“Josie!” Lizzie is approaching her quickly, “I’ve been looking all over for you.” 

“Oh.” Josie tries her best to hide her disappointment, but Lizzie seems too focused on something else to care. 

“MG is acting weird.” Lizzie states, as if that gives Josie all the answers to the universe, “Weirder than usual, what did you do to him?” 

Josie scoffs, “Don’t ask me, it was Landon. His chocolate was laced with some love potion and MG ate it.” 

Lizzie rolls her eyes, “Great. Of course it’s the gremlin’s fault. I’ve been trying to talk to him like a normal person, and he just wants to talk about comics and plan a date.” 

“I mean, that’s sweet. He wants to go on a date with you.” 

Lizzie makes a face, “He’s our friend. It would be weird if I went on a date with him. It’d be like if you and Hope went on a date.” 

Josie rolls her eyes at the words, but then quickly finds herself thinking about what Pomfrey had said, along with what Hope had told her this morning. Her and Penelope clearly have some things to talk about, but what if they didn’t want to talk about the same things? Or if the conversation just blows up in Josie’s face? 

Lizzie drags her into the dining hall, and Josie’s surprised to see that nobody is sitting with their houses. It’s hard to tell who is who, but Josie notices Penelope almost immediately- it would be impossible not to, with those green eyes. Josie stares for a few seconds, trying to figure out her next actions. She could sit with Lizzie, just in case the remedy Pomfrey gave her hasn’t settled in yet, or she could go sit next to Penelope and demand an explanation for the past few days.

Penelope notices Josie at the same time, because she leaps up from her spot at the table, Hope too busy talking with- more like arguing with Landon and Ethan as Penelope makes her way towards Josie. 

Josie half expects Penelope to just walk past her and Lizzie, but instead she pulls Josie into a hug. Her shock must show, because Lizzie snickers off to the side, only to start gagging when Penelope tugs on Josie’s tie, pulling her in for a kiss. 

“I, uhm, I’m going to go…” Lizzie offers dumbly. 

Josie pulls away, looking at Penelope. They’ve never been… open? She doesn’t even know. She never would have expected Penelope to kiss her in such an open space. Nobody had seemed to notice aside from Lizzie, all of them too wrapped up in their friends, but  _ still.  _

“Are you okay?” Josie questions when she manages to pull away, 

“I missed you!” Penelope chirps, in a way that’s definitely  _ not  _ Penelope, and Josie frowns. Penelope avoids her for a week, leaving Josie trying to come up with ways to approach and talk to her, and now Penelope is acting like nothing is wrong? 

Penelope pokes her cheek, “You’re cute when you’re confused.” 

“I… are you sure you’re okay?” 

“I’m fine. Why?” 

Josie shakes her head and shrugs, “Nothing, I was just… surprised? I thought you were mad at me.” 

Penelope frowns, “I’m not mad at you.” 

Josie looks over Penelope’s shoulder at Landon, who looks guilty as he watches the both of them, and Josie sighs. “Did you eat some of Landon’s chocolate earlier?” She questions, remembering that she had originally ended up in the Hufflepuff room in search for her. She doesn’t wait for Penelope’s answer as she storms towards Landon with Penelope in tow. 

“You.” Josie accuses, “Look at what you did to her.” 

“I didn’t do anything…” Landon trails off as Penelope pokes Josie’s face, yet again. “Okay, she had some of the chocolate before she disappeared, but she’s  _ Penelope,  _ so I thought she would be fine!” 

“Well, she’s  _ not  _ fine!” Josie argues loudly, and Penelope shushes her, only causing Hope to look amused as she observes the two of them. 

“Babe, I’m fine.” 

_ Babe?  _ That’s new, too. 

Josie looks at Hope, “You think this is funny?” 

“I think it’s funny that you’re so shocked,” Hope corrects, as if that’s any different. “You should have seen Penelope last year when we got into some Love Potion, it didn’t affect her at all.” 

“It’s true,” Penelope pipes up, “Ethan told me it’s because I’m heartless.” 

“I did not!” Ethan gasps dramatically. “I said that Love Potions only affect people once they’ve experienced deep romantic attraction to a person, and that’s how the potion is able to give the illusion that the person infected is in love again. Not that-” 

“Okay, nobody cares,” Maya cuts her brother off, “It’s obviously affecting Penelope now, she looks like a lovesick puppy, it’s gross.” 

“Thank you.” Josie huffs. 

“Take her to the infirmary.” 

“I’m right here.” Penelope insists, but she’s quickly distracted by Josie’s tie. “Do you always wear this wrong?” 

Josie flusters. Even after seven years of wearing a tie everyday, she’s never perfected wearing them. If anything, she had started to rely on Penelope fixing them for her. Penelope never seemed to mind, and Josie always enjoyed watching Penelope focus while she fixed it for her. Penelope doesn’t hesitate to tie it up for her, tucking it back into the collar of her shirt. 

“Thank you.” Josie mumbles defeatedly. 

“You’re welcome.” 

She stares at Penelope. She should drag Penelope back to the infirmary and insist that Madam Pomfrey helps her, too, but Josie’s not so sure how that would go with her. Penelope has always been ridiculously stubborn. Before Penelope started to avoid her, Josie had thought they were taking the next step in their relationship.

Well. Taking a step towards being friends, which  _ should  _ be a good thing. The guilt of hooking up with Penelope almost constantly was almost too much for her to handle.

She knows she should be with Jade and Alyssa, or even her mother, trying to figure out the first task- which is approaching rapidly, but Josie can’t find it in her to care. Not after Penelope had apparated into her dorm a few nights ago. Ever since then, Josie has only paid more attention to Penelope, trying to figure out why the other girl was avoiding her, and anything she could do to fix it. 

She shouldn’t be standing in the dining hall with Penelope staring at her like she put the stars in the sky, but she  _ is,  _ and it just feels wrong. 

Deciding that Penelope’s friends will be no help, Josie sighs and leads Penelope out of the dining hall, “Hey, Penelope, I uh… I’m going to go now, if that’s okay? I need to go meet Jade and Alyssa about the task this weekend.”

“I don’t want you to go.” 

“I know, but I…” 

“Okay, losers,” Maya announces, her and Hope walking towards them. “You need to break it up or I’m going to- oh, you’re just talking.” 

Hope rolls her eyes, “Penelope, come on. Josie’s got some things to do.” 

Josie doesn’t remember who started it, but the four of them start arguing after that, Josie telling Hope that she should have known there was something wrong with Penelope sooner, and Hope telling Josie’s that she’s still a dumbass for not seeing what’s right in front of her- whatever that means. 

Eventually, the three of them manage to convince Penelope to go to the infirmary, and Josie feels like she’s falling into a hole of guilt as Penelope leaves. Maybe if she had tried harder to find her earlier this week, they wou;dn’t have been put into this awkward mess.

With another defeated sigh, she goes back into the dining hall. She’s only there for fifteen minutes before Penelope returns, this time looking a bit annoyed. 

“I’m so sorry.” Penelope says as she sits down next to Josie. “Pomfrey gave me the same thing she gave you, and I realized what a dumbass I was acting like, I’m  _ so  _ sorry, and-” 

“It’s fine.” 

“No, it’s not, it was stupid and embarrasing. I can’t even trust Landon with food anymore.” 

Josie laughs at that, but Penelope is still tense next to her. 

“Penelope.” 

“What?” The slytherin grumbles. 

“It’s fine.” 

“It’s  _ embarrassing. _ ” 

“It could have been worse?” Josie offers, “You could have been all over Landon instead.”

Penelope looks disgusted at that, but finally relaxes. “That’s disgusting, don’t ever put that image in my head again.”

“Sorry.” 

“You didn’t do anything wrong, by the way,” Penelope tells her. “I just needed to figure some things out by myself. I’m sorry that I made you think that.” 

“I get it.” 

“I actually, uh.. I was wondering if you want to hang out after dinner. I wanted to talk to you, not when I’m doped up on a love potion. If you’re not busy.” 

“I’m not busy.” 

“You’re not preparing for the first task? Isn’t it tomorrow?” 

“I’ve been preparing everyday. I’ll be fine.” 

“Okay. I’ll show you after, then.” 

Josie stomach twists at that. They can handle just hanging out, right? They’re hanging out right now, aren’t they? Eventually, Josie decides to focus on eating instead of overthinking. There’s an awkward silence between them after that, even after Penelope starts talking to Ethan. After a few moments, Josie finds herself grabbing a hold of Penelope’s hand. Penelope notices a few moments later, and Josie shrugs.

“What?” She asks. 

“Nothing.” Penelope answers, her face laced with confusion. 

Then, Josie gives Penelope a goofy grin. “You’re cute when you’re confused.” She says, mirroring Penelope from earlier. She knows that it’s mean, and she shouldn’t find it so funny, but Penelope doesn’t look hurt. She just groans and let’s go of Josie’s hand. 

“You’re ridiculous.” Penelope grumbles, but Josie swears she can see a hint of a smile. 

“I know.” 

Less than five minutes later, they’re holding hands again. 

Josie’s proud of it, the way Penelope barely even thinks about it as she’s chatting with Ethan. Josie’s reaching for something that Pedro can’t get, and in the process her hand accidentally grazes against Penelope’s. At that point, it wasn’t even Josie’s fault. She gave Pedro the cupcake he had so kindly asked for quickly, and Penelope’s hand was practically begging to be held with the way she reacted to their hands brushing. 

It takes Penelope a good ten minutes to realize they’re holding hands. She only realizes when she goes to move her hand again. 

“Are you  _ sure _ you’re okay?” Penelope questions, confused as she looks at their linked hands underneath the table.

“I’m fine.” Josie insists.

Penelope seems to only grow more confused by the second, but she accepts Josie’s answer. “As much as I enjoy holding your hand, I kind of need this hand to eat.” 

Josie still doesn’t let go. 

“Josie. My hand.” 

“What’s wrong with it?”

“I- just… you never let me hold your hand.” Penelope comments.

Josie tries to not be offended, “That’s not true.” 

“Yes, it is.” 

“No, it’s not.”

“Fine,” Penelope concedes, lowering her voice as she leans closer, lips brushing against her ear, “You only let me hold your hand when we’re fucking.” 

Josie gasps dramatically at that, practically throwing Penelope’s hand back at her. Did she  _ really  _ have to say something like that when they’re in public? Anybody could hear them, even with Penelope whispering. They never know what trouble the other students are trying to cause. Maybe Penelope  _ was  _ telling the truth, but Josie would never give her the satisfaction. 

“Shut up,” Josie grumbles once she gets over the initial shock of Penelope’s comment. “I hate you.” 

Penelope laughs, already focusing on her meal. “I know.” 

Of course, Josie doesn’t actually hate Penelope, and she’s glad that Penelope doesn’t seem to take her comment to heart. Penelope’s words still have Josie’s face red and she’s trying her best to act how she normally would around the Slytherin- as if she’s not there, but she fails. 

Josie pouts, but she lets Penelope unlink their hands, a bit surprised when Penelope places Josie’s hand on her thigh. Josie questions it, but takes the opportunity to sit even closer, their shoulders pressed together. If it were any other day, Josie would come up with the excuse that a few students need more room, or that somebody had accidentally shoved her, but it’s  _ not  _ a normal day. 

By the time dinner ends, Penelope wastes no time grabbing a hold of Josie’s hand, dragging Josie across the school grounds. They skid to a stop at the great lake, and Penelope doesn’t hesitate to start taking off her clothes.

“You’re insane.” Josie says, stunned.

Penelope wants to swim in the Great Lake?  _ Seriously?  _ After all of those rumors about the Giant Squid and whatever else lurks in the water? Josie has never in a million years thought about swimming in the lake. She’s heard stories of students getting suspended or expelled after taking a dip. Besides, they don’t even have bathing suits, and attempting to swim with their school uniform on would just be ridiculous.

The shorter girl shrugs, kicking off her shoes and unbuttoning her pants. Josie stares at her shoes as the other girl strips to her underwear, kicking at the mud. There’s no  _ way  _ Josie is ever going to be convinced to swim in the lake- even if it’s with Penelope Park. Josie waits to hear for any sign that Penelope’s in the water, her eyes still glued to the ground. 

“You  _ can _ look, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” Penelope comments, and when Josie starts to look up, she’s hit in the face by Penelope’s shirt. 

“Really?!”

Penelope laughs, from her safe spot in the water, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you.” 

Josie can’t help but laugh a bit as well, despite the fact that she still thinks Penelope has lost her mind. She makes no move to join her, which only has Penelope pouting at her. Josie ignores her, sitting down on the grass. 

“You’re lame.”

“Am not.” 

“Then swim with me.” 

“No.”

A splash of water in her direction, and Josie huffs. The two of them bicker for at least ten minutes, Josie listing off all of the reasons she’s  _ not  _ swimming in the Great Lake, even if it is with Penelope, and Penelope’s trying to convince her that it’s fine. Eventually, after Penelope gives her a look of disappointment, Josie decides to join, mumbling and grumbling to herself the entire time. 

The water is freezing. She has no idea how Penelope has already spent so much time in it, or how Penelope isn’t shivering. When Josie reaches to where the slytherin is standing, the girl breaks out into a grin that ignites Josie’s chest on fire. 

“I knew you couldn’t resist swimming with me.” 

“If we get killed by mermen, it’s your fault.” 

“There’s no mermen here.” Penelope assures, and Josie relaxes a bit. “I think.” 

“Penelope, seriously!” 

“What?! There’s a giant squid here, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a bunch of corrupted mermen here, too.” 

“And you want me to swim with you?! I’m leaving.” 

Penelope grabs her hand again, pulling Josie back to her. “C’mon, they’re way off in the deep end.” 

Josie huffs, but she settles down. She doesn’t say anything, and the two of them float in the water. She tries to think of any way to say the words flying through her head, to voice it out to Penelope in a way that she  _ wants  _ to, without complicating anything, but she can’t find them. She swears, she could learn every word in the universe, and still not be able to explain to Penelope how she feels. 

She’s lost in her own thoughts, soaking up Penelope’s presence that she almost doesn’t register that Penelope’s talking to her.

“Rafael‘s good.”

“What?”

“Rafael. Your Gryffindor friend?” 

“Yeah. What about him?”

“He’s good. If you ever… He’s a good guy, I was talking to him today. Pretty sweet. Not as stupid as the rest of the boys here.” 

Josie frowns, something that Penelope must sense because she splashes some water in Josie’s direction. Penelope seemed to dislike Rafael the first time they had interacted, but now Penelope is giving him some sort of approval? 

“I, uh, there’s nothing going on between Raf and I.” 

“Oh. Right.” 

Josie sighs, not sure if Penelope sounds disappointed, or relieved. She looks at Penelope as she changes the topic. “What about your Dad?” 

“My dad is an asshole, who can’t handle it when people don’t listen to him. You don’t need to worry about him.”

“I’m not worried about him,” Josie admits, sucking in a breath to prepare herself for her next words. “I’m worried about  _ you. _ ”

Penelope tenses a bit at the words, but quickly hides it with a bright smile, “I’m fine,” Josie frowns, and she sighs. “ _ Better _ now,” Penelope corrects. “It was nothing a bit of sleep couldn’t fix, I promise.” 

Josie pouts. Penelope avoided her for almost a  _ week _ , and that’s the explanation she gives her? Penelope rests her hand on Josie’s cheek, the two of them locking eyes, “I’m feeling better now,” Penelope whispers in a promise. “If anything was wrong, you’d be the first person to know.” 

“Right.” 

“I’m serious. We’re friends.” 

Of course. Just friends. Why was Josie expecting anything different from Penelope? They’ve always been friends- sort of. Why change it now? It wouldn’t make sense. The mood suddenly changes between them, tense and thick. Penelope manages to snap Josie out of her wandering thoughts when she splashes some more water in her direction. 

After some more convincing, Josie follows Penelope deeper into the water. Josie’s swam before, of course she has. She grew up with her father taking her to the pool, but she’s never swam in a lake or the ocean before, and if she’s completely honest, the idea of swimming in a lake with enchanted creatures is beyond terrifying. 

“God, what the fuck?” Josie shrieks when something touches her foot, latching onto Penelope. 

“It’s seaweed.” 

“It was going to attack me.” 

“Josie, seaweed doesn’t have a mind of its own.” 

“Who knows? It could have been altered by the evil mermen.” 

“Jesus, you’re still on that?” 

“Yes, and the giant squid.” 

“I heard he’s harmless for the most part,” Penelope offers, but after Josie gives her a look, she shrugs, “Jo, he’s just a rumor, who knows if he’s actually down there?” 

“Not helping!” 

Penelope laughs, this time, free and genuinely happy. It’s enough to make Josie relax, releasing her embarrassingly tight grip on Penelope. The sun is starting to set, and Josie doesn’t think she’s ever seen Penelope’s green eyes look so vibrant. 

“It’s worth coming down here, isn’t it?” Penelope asks as she realizes what Josie’s looking at. “I used to think that the Astronomy Tower was the best place for this, but one night I came down here. It’s been my favorite since.” 

“It’s… Calming down here.” 

Penelope hums in agreement. 

Unfortunately, the sun continues to set, causing Penelope and Josie to get out of the water. Josie reminds them of their curfew, although that seems to be the last thing on Penelope’s mind. They get dressed quickly, and Josie’s about to bid her a good night when Penelope asks her if she wants to study with her. 

Josie doesn’t hesitate to accept the offer, and when Penelope leads her to the Slytherin Common Room, Josie’s in awe. She’s never been in their common room, although she has been in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw’s room several times. She’s heard people say that their common room is located under the great lake, and Josie never truly believed it. 

“You’re actually under the lake?” 

“Cool, right?” Penelope asks, the two of them ignoring the look they receive from a group of younger Slytherin’s in the corner. 

Josie doesn’t agree, the idea of evil mermen and the giant squid still in the back of her mind, but Penelope has this cute, almost hopeful expression, that Josie just nods. “It’s nice.” 

She can get used to it, anyways. 

Penelope leads her to her dorm before anybody can question why there’s a Gryffindor in the Slytherin common room.

“Your roommates won’t mind?” Josie asks. She doesn’t want to intrude. She knows that one of Penelope’s roommates is Hope, but she has no idea who the other is.

“They’re not staying here tonight.” 

As Josie sits on the edge of Penelope’s bed, she tells herself that she’s going to keep it friendly tonight. The two of them manage to spend at least two hours of their time keeping it cool. Penelope has an essay and Josie needs to memorize some equations, not to mention that she should be mentally preparing for the task tomorrow. Josie doesn’t know what she was thinking, spending so much time with Penelope and expecting them to stay civil or act normal around each other the whole time- especially with the whole Love Potion scandal. 

They make it work. Josie alternates from memorizing equations and staring at the ceiling of Penelope’s dorm, which is actually different from the ceiling in the Gryffindor dorms. It’s a small detail that Josie likes. 

It takes  _ two hours  _ before Penelope shifts closer, still keeping her attention on her work. Josie does her best to not react, and continues to practice the equations she needs to memorize by next Thursday. Josie lasts maybe another ten minutes or so with their new proximity before she even looks at Penelope. Penelope gives her a quick look before turning back to her essay, both of them not saying a word. 

Then, Penelope just carelessly pushes her ink and paper off the bed, and Josie doesn’t even hesitate to close the space between them. Their lips press together fervently, and Josie wonders why they even try to ignore the pull between them. 

“I still.” Kiss. “Need to.” Kiss. “Finish my work.” Kiss. 

“Finish it later.” 

Josie pushes any logical thought down as she cranes her neck up to meet the next kiss. Their lips part for each other, and while their tongues brush, Penelope’s hands start roaming. The few unbuttons of Josie’s top leaves enough skin exposed for Penelope’s liking, and she takes full advantage. The tips of her fingers brush over Josie’s collarbone, and given the charge they send down her spine, they might well be made of lightning. She moans into Penelope’s mouth, and that seems to serve as encouragement, because Penelope’s fingers slide under the bottom of her shirt. 

Penelope’s movement is tentative though, stopping below her belly button, as if they’ve never done this before. Josie reaches down, yanking the rest of the buttons open, revealing her bra that has Penelope snapping out of her hesitance. Her hands slide up Josie’s torso, and reaches behind her back, unfastening her bra. 

Penelope whispers something that Josie doesn’t catch, but she’s leaning into Penelope’s touch, already too preoccupied to wonder what the other girl had whispered. Penelope’s mouth descends to her neck as she keeps pressing a trail of kisses before nipping at the base of her throat. 

Josie pushes down the fabric over Penelope’s arms, revealing more tan skin, and she sucks in a breath. They’ve done this many times before, but it’s usually been out of frustration and anger, or even jealousy. 

“You okay?” Penelope asks. The two of them stare at each other, and Josie licks her lips, a little uncertain this time. Excitement quickly outweighs her strange bout of nervousness. Soon, she’s kissing Penelope again before dipping her head and  drawing Penelope’s nipple into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. The moans Penelope makes and the way her fingers shift through her hair are more than enough reward, chasing away any nervousness Josie had moments ago. She sucks harder, and Penelope arches into her, a clear request for more.

Suddenly, the hand in her hair tightens, and Penelope whimpers in disappointment as Josie pulls away. "What?" Penelope mutters, looking down at Josie. "Did I do something wrong?"

Josie doesn’t answer, still in her trance. The only thing that snaps Josie out of her trance is the urge to get back to touching. Her hands reach out to Penelope’s hips, where there’s only the narrow band of her underwear to break up all of that soft skin. It’s irresistible, running her fingers along the plane of Penelope’s stomach, around to the curve of her back, and then down again, settling on the firm swell of her ass.

She can hear Penelope’s breathing getting shorter and sharper by the second, and now she’s rocking hungrily against Josie’s leg. Josie’s skirt is hiked up far enough that Penelope can find easy purchase against her. 

“Seems like you’re real comfortable.” Josie jokes, and Penelope licks her lips, a small moan coming from her, confirming the statement in the best way. 

“Definitely.” Penelope leans forward for another kiss, and this one is the hottest yet, letting Josie taste just how much the other woman wants. her hands are tangled in Josie’s hair, and her hips are still grinding against Josie’s thigh. 

When Penelope finally comes up for air, though, she surprises Josie by climbing off of her. For a second, Josie’s not sure what to make of that, but Penelope unfastens her skirt and tosses it to the floor. One of Penelope’s thighs presses between her legs, making her groan at the pressure.

"Tell me what you want." Penelope murmurs, planting a winding trail of kisses along her throat. The heat of her mouth sets Josie's skin on fire, and her hips start rocking, tilting further into Penelope's thigh for better purchase. She pauses, and the graze of her teeth sends a sharp jolt of pleasure straight to Josie's core.

"Anything," Josie mutters, threading her fingers through Penelope's hair and pushing gently but firmly on the top of her head. She doesn't know quite what she's asking for, but she knows she needs more. More of Penelope, more of Penelope kissing her and her hands, more of her and the little sounds Penelope makes.

Penelope seems to understand. Her lips glide downward, and when they wrap around the stiff peak of Josie's right nipple, a cry cracks in her throat and her hips give another eager pump above Penelope's knee. Josie knows it’s pathetic at how desperate she is, but Penelope doesn’t seem to mind. As Penelope’s mouth glides over her stomach, Josie’s muscles tense. Josie doesn’t remember wanting anything with quite this much sharpness, and she’s pretty sure she’ll explode if she doesn’t get to come soon.

Fortunately, Penelope seems to sense her desperation, because it’s not long before her mouth skips over to Josie’s inner thigh, and trails across skin made slick by her arousal. “Somebody’s eager.” The combination of the words and the hot breath across her most sensitive flesh is enough to make Josie melt. And that’s even before Penelope really gets started. Her tongue flicks up, making contact with Josie’s outer folds, and the most embarrassing whimper slips free of her mouth.

Not that Penelope seems to mind the sound. Not at all. She gives up an answering murmur of approval and then resumes exploring with her mouth. The touch is absolutely electric. Bolts of pleasure shoot straight through Josie’s body, and her hand grasps harder at Penelope’s hair. She tangles her fingers through the silky strands, tugging on them lightly in an attempt to show how much she’s liking this. Josie hopes it’s not too rough, but it’s difficult for her to tell, because she’s rapidly losing the capacity to feel almost anything except for Penelope’s mouth on her. 

Penelope reaches up, and their hands are joined together. 

All of a sudden, Penelope’s lips wrap around her clit, and almost anything becomes anything at all. Nobody’s ever done that for Josie before, and it’s absolutely incredible. The pressure makes her gasp and moan, even before it’s joined by Penelope’s tongue lashing over the head. The combination is more than she has a hope of resisting. She’s rocking back and forth helplessly, crying out Penelope’s name, pleading for more, making sounds she didn’t know she had in her; it’s all blending together.

Then it’s simply too much. Penelope makes an especially deft stroke with her tongue, and Josie’s thighs clench around her head. She shivers and shakes as the waves of pleasure roll over her, a warmth that spreads to every part of her body even as it makes her heart soar. But even then, Penelope still doesn't stop. She keeps right on going, and soon, Josie finds herself rising up again, hurtling at breakneck speed toward a second release. This has to be what skydiving is like, she thinks during the split second of stillness before the fall. And then she hurtles back toward earth, rocking and moaning and tossing her head from side to side on the pillow because she can't possibly keep still while such heavy ripples are coursing through her.

When it finally ends, Penelope's there to catch her. Her girlfriend's hands are stroking soft patterns over Josie’s legs and hips, and one of Penelope's wet cheeks is comfortably cushioned on her thigh. 

“Hi.” Penelope breathes out, a goofy grin on her face. 

“Hey.” Josie whispers back.

“Hi,” Penelope repeats, crawling back up and pulling Josie into a searing kiss. “You good?” 

“Yeah. Super good.” She breathes out, and Penelope laughs, falling onto the bed next to her. 

The two of them stare at the ceiling, their hands still clasped together. Josie takes the time to soak in Penelope’s presence in a way she hasn’t before. It’s enjoyable, until Josie suddenly realizes that her first task is tomorrow, and she had made plans to meet with Jade and Alyssa.

“Fuck, I’m supposed to be meeting Alyssa and Jade,” Josie shoots up as she remembers suddenly, making a move to climb out of the bed, but Penelope stops her. She presses an inviting kiss to her shoulder. “An hour… ago…” 

“Hmm, they’re boring.” Penelope mumbles against her skin, arm snaking around Josie’s waist, fingers already tracing against the skin on her stomach, and Josie’s eyes flutter shut as Penelope nibbles on her earlobe, “Stay with me?” 

“Penelope, seri-” Josie’s voice dies in her throat as Penelope’s fingers dip lower, only causing Josie to moan.

“You were saying?” She asks smugly. 

It only takes a few more moments for Josie to fall apart again under Penelope’s touch, and by that time, she decides that she’s too tired to do anything else. Other than pull Penelope into kiss after kiss, the two of them sharing whispered secrets until Josie falls asleep in the other girl arms. 

Josie wakes up with a start, only causing Penelope to look at her with tired eyes and an amused grin as Josie hops around the Slytherin’s dorm, attempting to find her clothing. Half way through, she gives up in finding what belongs to her and haphazardly wraps Penelope’s tie around her neck- completely ignoring the irony of it all. 

“I have to go.”

“It’s Saturday.” Penelope mumbles, her face buried into a pillow. Josie whacks her with a sock, nearly tripping and falling. 

“Yeah,” Josie huffs as she finally manages to pull her pants over her hips, nudging Penelope when the girl doesn’t move. “It’s  _ Saturday. _ ”

“You can sleep in, it’s not going to kill you.” 

Josie rolls her eyes. “Penelope! The tournament!” 

“Oh, shit! The first task, it’s in like, thirty minutes.” Penelope’s out of bed in a flash, managing to get dressed faster than Josie. Too bad they didn’t spend the night in the Gryffindor Tower, or Josie would have been able to look out the window and see what they had done to the Quidditch Pitch. She doesn’t think Penelope or Hope would be happy to see that it’s been converted to grounds for the first task.

The two of them scramble to get ready, and Josie runs off towards the tent the moment she steps foot outside.

“Mom! Hi, I’m here.” Josie announces her presence quickly, taking the folded uniform out of her mother’s hands before she can begin to question why Josie is late. She rushes off to the tent that the champions are supposed to meet in, and thank  _ god _ it’s empty as she quickly changes into her uniform for the tournament.

“Hey,” Penelope sticks her head through the flap of the tent, catching Josie by surprise. Penelope’s hair is unkempt, and Josie’s eyes widen a bit when she notices that Penelope has the Gryffindor Crest painted onto one of her cheeks. It’s already a bit smudged, but the colors and the head of the lion are still obvious. 

She doesn’t know why she’s so surprised. Penelope is the furthest thing from a traditional Slytherin, and has been since their first year. Even after all these years of attending school together, she still manages to make Josie rethink the whole housing thing. Slytherin’s typically have the hardest time supporting their friends from other houses, and Penelope’s standing in front of her with Gryffindor written all over her. 

“You look nervous,” Penelope comments as she steps in. “I’d give you a pep talk, but I’m not equipped for one in this situation.” 

“I, uh, you should go grab a seat or something.”

“Hope and Lizzie are saving me one.”

Huh. She never thought that Lizzie would ever try to tolerate Penelope. Josie bundles up Penelope’s tie in her hand, tossing it back at her, only causing the Slytherin to smirk when she catches it. 

“You should have seen your mom’s face when she saw you wearing this.” Penelope looks over her, and Josie can’t help but feel a bit self-conscious in her outfit. She’s wearing Gryffindor colors, bright enough to see her from a mile away. Penelope steps closer, and Josie realizes that Penelope has pulled on  _ her  _ robes this morning, the Gryffindor crest resting on her shoulder. 

Penelope must sense Josie’s nerves growing, because she grips the front of Josie’s shirt in her hand, pulls her closer and presses their lips together in a quick kiss that does little to soothe her. 

“What’s that for?” 

“Good luck?” 

“Can I have another one?” Josie asks dumbly, and Penelope giggles- yes,  _ giggles,  _ a sound Josie hasn’t heard from her before, and she’s scrunching up her nose in this really adorable way. They’re kissing again, and the more Josie allows herself to ease up. She forgets about the cheers just outside the tent, forgets that anybody can walk in and- 

_ Snap!  _

Her and Penelope break apart, only to be greeted by Ryan Clarke with a camera in his hands, grinning devilishly. 

“Glad to see you have been preparing for the tasks well, Miss Saltzman.” He comments. 

Penelope doesn’t hesitate to threaten him, “I’ll have my father pull you from the paper if you try to-” 

Her mother storms in, face red as she stares at the three of them. Not a single word is spoken, and her mother sighs tiredly, but orders Penelope and Clarke out of the tent. “Get out. Miss Park, you can see Josette  _ after  _ the task. Clarke, I want you to stay away from my students.” 

The two of them leave, Penelope giving Josie an encouraging smile as the tent closes behind her. Her mother is quick to help Josie fix up her outfit, and Jose frowns as she realizes how tired her mother looks. 

“Mom? When’s the last time you slept?” 

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetie. Just focus on the task, okay? You can do this, you just have to remember you’re more capable than you think you are.” 

Josie starts to argue as her mother pushes her towards the other end of the tent, the crowd suddenly silent, and it chills Josie to the bone. A few moments ago, they were nearly bursting her eardrums with their screams and cheers.

Without another word, her mother pushes her through the tent, and Josie stumbles a bit on the ground in front of her. She turns to give her mother an annoyed look, but she’s no longer behind her. She takes a deep breath, trying her best to not be upset with her mother's sudden disappearance, and observes the crowd in front of her. Thousands of students and professors are silent, all looking down at her from the stands.

_ Shit _ . 

The first task has already begun. 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so im not the best at writing action/fighting/idk but now that the first task is here, I hope i don't let you all down! 
> 
> please enjoy :)

Josie had spent nearly an entire month preparing for the first task. From skipping class to practice spells in her mother’s office, to Rafael showing her a few hand to hand combat skills. Josie had hoped that she would never lose her wand and put herself in that situation. Okay, Rafael helping her had only lasted a day, Josie feeling too guilty about accidentally breaking his nose to try again. 

She had spent  _ weeks  _ talking and bickering with Alyssa and Jade about what the task could potentially be. Spent weeks hanging out in her mother’s office in an attempt to find answers, seeing if she could squeeze any of the information from her mother, with no luck. 

Spent weeks distracting herself from the first task because it all became too overwhelming for her to even think about, so she distracted herself with Penelope. Distracted herself with Penelope and only ended up adding Penelope to the list of things she’s stressing about. 

Wasted so much time wondering if she’d have to fight for her life, or even help Jade or Alyssa fight for theirs. When she takes a step forward, and nothing happens- not Alyssa appearing at her shoulder, or Jade giving her an encouraging thumbs up. 

It’s a strange feeling, after spending so much time worrying about things that seem so insignificant now, even when lights turn on and illuminate the space before her. Jade and Alyssa already had their time with the first task, now it’s her turn. She doubts that they had any fun trying to complete it. 

So, when she walks into the first task, she’s more than surprised to be greeted by nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Well, nothing aside from the crowd watching her high up in the stands and the strange set up of the area in front of her. 

There’s a few feet of flat land in front of her, then it turns into gigantic rocks, jagged and three times her size, and they all look like they might topple over any second and crush her. Past the rocks, there’s another small clearing, with a table that has a small bag resting in the middle of it, and trees beyond that. 

The whole set up has Josie more confused than before and she stays rooted in place, gripping her wand nervously. She doesn’t want to take the wrong step and make the task much harder than it needs to be. 

All she needs to do is grab the bag, which most likely has hints for the second task, and be done, right? It’s as easy as walking down the halls at Hogwarts, or as easy as finding Penelope in the middle of the dining hall. 

_ Penelope.  _

As easy as finding Penelope in a crowded hall, or as easy as her finding herself in Penelope’s arms. 

Josie finds Penelope within the crowd less than a minute later, the slytherin giving her an encouraging smile. She’s next to Lizzie and Hope, who both seem to be as confused as she is. The crowd is still silent, aside from a few hushed whispers, and it makes Josie nervous. Is there something they see that she can’t? 

Penelope sends her a wink, and Josie swallows roughly. She shouldn’t be allowing Penelope to distract her, again. Especially  _ now.  _ Josie blinks a few times, reminding herself that she is in the middle of a task. 

Okay. She can handle this. All she has to do is ignore the hundreds of eyes on her, and the way that the hair on her neck stands up when she takes another careful step forward. It’s not a big deal, not  _ really.  _ Even if she was ill-prepared, there is no proper way to be prepared for a task. There’s no way Josie could ever prepare for each moment, each tiny detail. 

She wonders what her mother would tell her to do, or what she’d do if she were in the same position as her. If anything, her mother wouldn’t be stupid enough to get herself in this position in the first place, but that’s a thought Josie pushes down. 

How much time has passed? Josie should have kept count, now that she thinks about it. How long did it take Jade? An hour?  _ Two _ ? If she had woken up on time, she’d have a better idea of what to expect from the set up in front of her, but she still feels frozen. 

Eventually,  _ finally _ , she takes more than one step at a time, which is proven to be a mistake. The more steps she takes towards the table, the further away it gets. Thankfully, she figures this out quickly as she takes a testing step backwards, only causing the table to move closer once again. 

Great. All she needs to do is get to the enchanted table. Piece of cake. If she knew what spell was placed on the table, it would take her seconds to figure out a counter spell. She’s only been doing it since she was born. Only, she wouldn’t be undoing some simple spell. She’s in the middle of a triwizard task, after all. Some of the most powerful wizards and witches helped spell it. 

Out of curiosity, she takes another step forward, a bigger one, and she nearly falls through the ground. 

“Jesus,  _ fuck. _ ” She grumbles to herself. 

Of course, the ground just has to be some magical mudpit that she steps in. Thankfully, she didn’t decide to jump and fall through completely. She doesn’t know if she could deal with the embarrassment of falling all the way in. 

She wonders how Jade and Alyssa handled the task, and if it’s clear to the people watching that she hasn’t got the slightest clue of what she’s supposed to be doing. If it’s obvious that she made the mistake of allowing herself to get distracted so easily. Surely, it’s not  _ that  _ obvious, is it? 

After a few moments of struggling, she manages to pull her leg out of the mud, and groans internally. She practically flops onto the ground, not caring about the audience anymore. The whole situation is suddenly humorous to her. Whose brilliant idea was it to have the tournament  _ this  _ year? Why couldn’t it have waited until Josie got all of her shit together? Years from now, when she’s out of Hogwarts and doesn’t have to worry about every little minor inconvenience a task has? 

The idea of being too old to compete sounds good right about now. Or maybe she should have just stayed in bed with Penelope. 

With another groan, she gets back to her feet, and dusts off her shirt. She can handle this, no more distractions. She decides the best way to the table for now is to walk among the edge of the ground in front of her, until she gets a better view, or can think of some spell. 

Wait. 

She  _ is  _ a competent witch. For the most part. Who says she even has to reach the table? All she has to do is perform one of the simplest spells she knows, a spell she’s been using for a long as she can remember. 

Gripping her wand, she focuses on the table, and under her breath whispers, “Accio, bag.” 

It doesn’t move, which relieves her more than frustrates her. She hadn’t expected the spell to work, because that would have made it too easy, but it was worth trying. Or if she had cast the spell, it would have been a trap. Who the hell knows? 

There still seems to be no immediate threat, or any changes in front of her. She bites her lower lip nervously, debating on if she should try repeating the spell, just to see if her use of magic would cause any changes. She had whispered it. 

Josie raises her wand again, preparing to speak the spell again.

She freezes when she hears the screeching. 

It takes her by such surprise, she nearly drops her wand as she goes to cover her ears. Of course, it does almost nothing to help, and with a quick observation, she notices that everyone in the crowd has covered their ears as well. 

It comforts her in a strange way, knowing she wasn’t the only one who had just heard the sudden sound. It sounds too small to be a dragon, which, thank  _ god,  _ because, where the hell would a dragon be hiding? Surely, she would have noticed a creature that big lurking in the trees. She stays frozen on the spot, still not able to locate the sound. 

She tries to think of a list of creatures she grew up learning about, how she learned about Hippogriffs, to Fairies. There’s no way it would be a Hippogriff. Josie has spent enough time working with them near Hagrid’s hut to know that they’re essentially harmless, and they certainly do not screech like that. Or screech at all. Not to mention, it would be giving her an advantage that Alyssa and Jade don’t have. She doubts the first task would be that easy for any of them.

However, Josie’s never seen a fairy, but she’s heard the stories about them. How they like to stay in large groups and tend to create chaos wherever they go. Could she be dealing with a group of creatures? If they are fairies, it would only make the task that much harder, seeming that her magic hasn’t been much help. How would she be able to stop a large group of them? 

She decides to cross fairies off her list, because if they are as troublemaking as they are in the stories she’s heard, they would have already tried to make her life miserable. 

There’s more screeching, this time less startling and further away, presumably, hidden away in the trees. 

At least it gives Josie some time to figure out what the hell it is. She doesn’t want to think about what would happen if she had reached the table. Whatever creature it is, must be guarding the bag. Could it be a Chimaera? They are rather violent creatures, and on top of that, they’re hybrids. They’d have some versatility of scaring off any threats, but they are extremely rare and don’t protect anything, as far as Josie knows. Why put effort into training a creature for a task when they can find one that will do the job naturally? 

Okay, at least she narrowed it down. She just needs to think of supernatural creatures that protect… Protect  _ what?  _ The bag filled with hints for the second task only has worth to her, not some random creature. 

She mumbles under her breath, counting off in her head. She’s not exactly sure why she’s counting, but it helps calm her as she begins to move towards the trees, hoping they will provide more answers than the mud disguised as rocks. 

By the time she reaches the clearing, closer to the trees, she quickly realizes her mistake. She’s knocked off her feet, head slamming into the ground. 

Her vision blurs for a few moments, and she blinks rapidly, shaking her head, trying to clear her head. When her vision focuses again, she’s greeted by a creature looming over her. The creature doesn’t approach her, not yet. It stares down at her with beady black eyes, and Josie scrambles back. She doesn’t take her eyes off of it, too afraid of what would happen if she did so. 

It looks like it’s made of stone, with wings and it takes a step closer to her as she reaches for her wand, and both of them freeze. Her wand is just out of reach, but when she stops inching her hand closer to it, it doesn’t move. Just watches her expectantly, waiting for her to grab a hold of it. 

_ God,  _ Josie thinks,  _ It looks just like that gargoyle my dad had in his front yard. _

She wants to laugh at the idea, because even with her seven years of being at Hogwarts, she hasn’t heard of anything like gargoyles. Up until this point, she had just assumed that gargoyles were something muggles had come up with, something to provide themselves with a sense of comfort. 

Now, she just has to come up with a way to stop it, from approaching her, or even kill it before it attempts to kill her.

She scans the crowd again, and everyone seems to be on the edge of their seats, screaming and cheering as if she’s in the middle of a Quidditch game. The thought unsettles her. When she finds Penelope again, seeing that the Slytherin hasn’t left her spot, the girl is shouting at her. 

The attempt in communicating seems useless, but Josie blinks a few more times, managing to push out the ringing in her ears, focusing on Penelope over the gargoyle’s shoulder.

“Protectors!” Penelope yells down at her. “Gargoyles are protectors of-” 

The gargoyle in front of Josie screeches again, and Josie’s sure that her eardrums are going to burst, or maybe they already have, with the ringing she faintly hears. Instinctively, she wants to run away from the strange creature in front of her, or cast a spell that will toss it to the side. She thinks about casting a barrier spell around her, but she’s too close to the gargoyle. She would just end up trapping herself into the spell  _ with  _ the gargoyle, and just result in her untimely death. 

She should have paid more attention in class over the past few weeks. 

Of course, growing up with a muggle for a father, she was told that muggles believe putting small, fake Gargoyles on their property helped them ward off any dangerous spirits, but her mother had told them that  _ real  _ Gargoyles don’t hesitate to fight off any threats, but she doesn’t remember her mother mentioning anything about protectors. 

Penelope seems confident that they’re protectors as well, but the gargoyle had rudely cut her off. Josie tries to remember when the gargoyle appeared, remembering how it had only made its presence known  _ after  _ she cast a spell. The gargoyle wasn’t protecting the table, or the bag. 

Muggles. 

It’s protecting  _ muggles.  _

Only, there’s no muggles here. Muggles that find their way on grounds either get lost, stumbling around aimlessly for a few hours, or some of the students come across them and scare them off. Surely, her mother and the other headmasters aren’t cruel enough to kidnap some muggles for the tournament, right? 

She’s not a muggle either, and if she even thinks about grabbing her wand again, she’d be dead in a second. There’s nothing near her that could help her distract it, although, the more she ponders it, the less likely she thinks her lame attempt of distracting it would actually work.

Is there even a spell that she could cast? One that could even stop it? She really has no clue. 

Setting it on fire couldn’t possibly help, although Josie  _ really  _ wants to, if she were completely honest. The gargoyle must be made out of stone, and even she knows that stone can’t be set on fire, although it may get extremely hot, and she might harm the creature if she  _ did _ cast a fire spell. 

She doesn’t think much about it, but she grabs her wand quickly as she decides what spell she’ll use. The moment the wand is in her hand, the gargoyle reaches out towards her with a clawed hand, but it seems to hesitate. 

It’s hesitation gives her enough time to work up the courage she needs, “ _ Confringo!” _

Nothing happens, other than it reaching out for her again, this time looking conflicted with itself as it does so. She hesitates at the emotion the creature shows, but with her hesitation, it manages to reach her leg, tearing a slit down one leg of her pants, narrowly missing her skin. 

“ _ Confringo _ !” Josie shouts again, and the gargoyle screeches again. She manages to ignore the pain it brings her, reciting the spell again when she realizes the small cracks spreading across its body. Each time she recites the spell, the louder it’s screeches get, and the more her ears ring.

Eventually, after she whispers the spell one more time, it combusts into hundreds of small pieces, crumbling to the ground at her feet. She pokes the pile with her toe. Nothing happens, and she lets out a sigh of relief. She winces as she finally stands again, the ringing in her ears becoming almost unbearably loud, even as she waits a few moments for it to go away.

The crowd whistles and claps, but she can’t hear it as she takes a step towards the table again, and she’s more than happy to find out that it stays in place this time. 

Once she reaches the table, and grabs the bag, her first reaction is to hide it in her pocket, away from the hundreds of eyes still watching her. She doesn’t want to open it in front of them, who knows what kind of vital information could be in there?

When she meets Penelope’s green eyes, they’re the last thing as the world around her grows dark.

* * *

Josie wakes up in one of the beds in the infirmary, her mother and Lizzie staring down at her expectantly. Once it registers that she’s awake, the two of them move suddenly.

Lizzie’s rambling about something, using her hands to help tell her story, but Josie can’t hear a word, her mother is smiling and crying- with relief and happiness, Josie hopes. Her mother pulls her into a hug, bringing Lizzie down with her. 

It’s nice- probably the first time she’s hugged her mother or Lizzie in a few days, now that she thinks about it. And with all of the worries about the first task behind her, she’s able to relax into the hug. She’s missed her mother, who has been the busiest person on the planet for the past few weeks, and her and Lizzie weren’t on the greatest of terms, but it all ceases away. 

When her mother and Lizzie pull away from the hug, her mother is saying something, and Josie frowns. 

“I can’t hear you.” Josie says, and her mother frowns, stopping in her sentence immediately, and her mother looks more worried than Josie feels, which only sends her into a spiral fear. How long has she been out? How long has her hearing been gone? 

Before she knows it, her mother is yelling at Madam Pomfrey, at least Josie assumes she is, based on her mother’s body language, and Lizzie gives her hand a comforting squeeze. Josie glances over at the bed next to her, and sees Jade, unconscious. On the bed across from her, Alyssa sits, looking rather amused at watching Josie’s mother be upset. 

Finally, after her mother calms down enough, somebody finds them a piece of parchment and a quill, and Josie spends the next twenty minutes communicating with them that way, but she grows increasingly frustrated after Pomfrey does some tests, only confirming some of their suspicions. 

Thankfully, Pomfrey believes she can reverse some of the damage that the Gargoyle had done, and after she writes down her explanation for Josie to read, she ushers Lizzie and her mother out. 

Josie ends up spending the night in the infirmary, even after all of Pomfrey’s tests and potions she gives Josie. Alyssa is forced to stay the night as well, something the Beauxbatons student is clearly upset with. Jade doesn’t have much of a choice, seeing that she hasn’t woken up at all during the hours Josie has spent in the infirmary. 

However, she wakes up the next morning, and she’s greeted with the sight of Alyssa and her boyfriend kissing sloppily, and she nearly chokes, not expecting  _ that  _ to be the first thing she sees. They break apart hastily, the two of them must have heard the strangled noise in Josie’s throat, but she has no idea how ridiculous she sounded. 

Jed leaves shortly after, but not before him and Alyssa have an intense conversation about something. 

Pomfrey offers Josie another potion when she realizes that Josie has awoken, and Josie drinks the entire thing, desperate for any solution to regaining her hearing back. Even if the first thing she has to hear is Alyssa complaining. 

Alyssa starts talking to Josie, and Josie attempts to understand her, but Alyssa grows exasperated, and grabs another piece of parchment, writing onto it before shoving it into Josie’s hands. 

_ Your girlfriend is here. _

“Really? She is?” Josie voices, which must have been a mistake judging by the way Alyssa raises her eyebrows. Alyssa has called Penelope her girlfriend several times over the past month, mostly to get under Josie’s skin, only for Josie to insist that the two of them aren’t together. Josie must have sounded hopeful at the idea of Penelope's presence- or the idea of her being her girlfriend.

Josie has no idea when she became okay with the idea of Penelope being her girlfriend, but Alyssa looks humored at the development. Josie glances towards the doors of the infirmary, and sees that they’re still open a crack, revealing Penelope waiting patiently.

She has no idea how long Penelope has been waiting, but judging by the way Pomfrey is attending to Jade, she must have forgotten to mention it to Josie. She doubts Pomfrey is just allowing anybody to walk in, so Josie grabs the old woman’s attention with a wave of her hand.

“Madam, can you let Penelope in?” She asks, feeling too lazy to write down her question.

Pomfrey looks slightly annoyed at the request, but she ends up letting Penelope in. Josie finds herself growing nervous as Pomfrey and Penelope talk at the doors- most likely explaining Josie’s situation.

After a few minutes, Penelope practically bounces up to Josie, and doesn’t hesitate to write on the parchment Alyssa had used earlier.

_ Do you like french toast?  _

Josie’s earliest memories include her waking up early on sundays, with her mother cooking her and Lizzie french toast. She doesn’t remember mentioning anything of the sorts to Penelope, and Penelope looks a bit nervous. Josie almost wants to say  _ no, I hate it,  _ just to mess with her, but she just pats the empty space next to her. 

“I love french toast.” 

Penelope pulls out a tray of food, literally, out of nothing. Josie had almost forgotten that they’re  _ witches,  _ and it’s a basic spell that anybody can do, but she’s impressed. Penelope’s speaking as she balances the tray between them, then looks guilty at Josie’s lost expression. 

_ There were no pancakes or waffles left.  _

Josie looks at the tray in front of them, from the stacks of french toast and bowls of fruit, to the cup of orange juice- which happens to be Josie’s favorite thing to drink in the morning. 

“This is perfect,” Josie tries to assure, “Thank you.” 

Penelope grins, that stupid, goofy one that Josie adores, and the two of them eat in silence- well, Josie does. Pomfrey had explained that the potions she had drank work slowly, and that it could take up a week before they would know if Josie’s hearing loss is permanent. It’s only been a day, but Josie doesn’t know what she would do if it is permanent. Sure, it’s not a  _ bad  _ thing, compared to what has happened to the previous contenders in the tasks years ago, but it would take Josie a while to adjust to it. Not to mention her friends and family, too. 

Alyssa decides to annoy Penelope as the two of them eat, clearly upset that Pomfrey has demanded that she stay in the infirmary for a few days. 

At least the two of them are still doing better than Jade, who still hasn’t woken up. 

Penelope winds up ignoring Alyssa, but only after she throws a strawberry at the Beauxbatons student, turning her attention back to the food in front of them. Josie had finished a few moments ago, sipping on the orange juice Penelope had kindly brought her. 

The slytherin must be starving, or had woken up early to play Quidditch with Hope, because Josie notices some dirt that has been caked onto Penelope’s arm, and the bruise forming on her hand- it's a weird spot, but Josie wouldn’t be surprised if somebody had attempted to dismember Penelope with a bludger. She’s seen the way they’ve played for the games, and she doubts it any different when they do it to pass time. 

“You, uh, you got something.” Josie comments when she notices some syrup on Penelope’s chin. 

Penelope wipes her face aggressively, successfully cleaning her chin in the process. 

_ Are you allowed to leave?  _ Penelope writes. 

“I’m on house arrest.” 

Penelope smiles, and looks over at Pomfrey, as if she’s going to test how true Josie’s statement is. 

Naturally, twenty minutes later, Penelope’s leading Josie through the castle. Most of the time was spent with Penelope arguing with Pomfrey, and after she convinced Pomfrey that Josie would be fine as long as they stayed inside, Pomfrey ended up writing a list of rules that Josie needed to follow. 

It wasn’t so hard, the two of them wandering down the halls, their hands glued together. Penelope hasn’t said a word, and Josie’s just waiting for a sign that Pomfrey’s potions have worked. 

They stop at the bottom of one of the staircases, and Penelope glances over at Josie. Pomfrey had told them to avoid stairs, which, Josie guesses is understandable, but that only limits her and Penelope to so much entertainment. 

Penelope pulls out the parchment again,  _ Piggyback ride?  _

Josie laughs, “I’m too heavy.” 

Penelope looks like she wants to smack some sense into Josie, but decides to roll her eyes and scribbles some more on the parchment. 

_ No you’re not, get on.  _

Penelope doesn’t give Josie much of a choice, because she gives Josie a pout- one that’s probably meant to mirror the one Josie gives her constantly, and Josie sighs.

She ends up agreeing, because she rather spend time with Penelope than be stuck in the infirmary, and Penelope climbs up the stairs with ease.

They find themselves in the library, which is mostly empty. It’s the first time Josie has found her way into the room this semester, an idea that makes her realize she needs to start focusing on her studies again. 

Penelope wastes no time dragging Josie through the many rows and shelves of books, clearly having a goal in mind as she searches for a book. Once she finds whatever she’s looking for, she smiles at Josie proudly, with three books in her arms. It’s an adorable sight, and Josie can’t help but smile happily back.

They don’t sit at a table, but rather on the floor in the middle of row, Penelope already flipping through one of the books quickly, and when she finds what she’s looking for, she hands the book to Josie. 

It takes a few seconds to register what she’s staring at, and when she does, her heart swells up a size or two. Penelope had found a few books on sign language, and found a page with the alphabet drawn onto the pages. 

_ I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would help, until the potions kick in.  _

“It’s fine…” Josie tries to find the right words, but she’s not even sure what she wants to say to Penelope. 

They end up spending hours in the library, taking turns on figuring out how to spell out their names, to some basic signs, like  _ sorry, thank you, please.  _

Josie attempts to sign something else, retelling a story for one of the books, but accidentally hits Penelope in the face. Josie immediately feels guilty, finding herself saying and signing  _ sorry  _ at the same time, but Penelope just laughs. 

Penelope laughs- and it’s weird not being able to hear the sound, but Josie can feel it under her fingertips from where they rest on the girl’s side, and she watches as Penelope scrunches her nose. Surely, Penelope didn’t plan on spending her day with Josie like this, confined to the walls of the castle, only being able to communicate to Josie through writing everything down. 

It means a lot to Josie, it really does, all of the effort Penelope put in, but for Penelope, it seems like nothing. 

Josie can’t help but lean closer, and Penelope looks at her, still smiling. Josie bites her bottom lip, in a lame attempt to hide her frown. She had thought she was doing good, given her situation, but the idea of not being able to hear Penelope laugh ever again has suddenly made her upset. 

And it’s a stupid reason to be upset, it really is, so she’s telling herself that she needs to get over it. 

Penelope’s hand finds its way to the back of Josie’s neck, soft and gentle, playing with a few loose strands of hair. Neither one of them moves, both of them just staring at each other, until Josie decides that she can't handle it anymore. She leans forward, brushing their lips together. 

It’s not much, just brushing of lips, as if they’ve never done this before. Soft and tentative, mostly on Penelope’s end. Josie’s grip on the Slytherin’s shirt tightens as she starts to pull away, whispering something that Josie can’t hear, but it doesn’t matter, not really. 

She closes the small space between them again, more confident than before. Penelope reciprocates, kissing her with a sense of hunger that feels different than before. They part after a few minutes, their hands clasped together. Josie doesn’t remember reaching for Penelope's hand, but she doesn’t mind. 

They leave the library after that, and Penelope brings Josie back to the infirmary, where Pomfrey is waiting, clearly happy to see Josie returning in one piece. Pomfrey wastes no time trying to kick Penelope out for the night, and Penelope signs  _ good night _ to Josie clumsily before pressing a kiss to her cheek and leaves without an argument, much to Pomfrey’s surprise. 

Josie’s night in the infirmary with Alyssa is boring and borderline lonely without Penelope’s company, but Josie manages to survive. Barely. 

It’s the next morning when her hearing returns suddenly, scaring Josie more than making her happy.

Pomfrey is inspecting her leg, because it did end up being affected by the gargoyle, but Josie hadn’t noticed because it wasn’t bothering her. “You’re always getting yourself into trouble aren’t you, Miss Saltzman?” Pomfrey mumbles under her breath, causing Josie to shift away, slightly startled. 

“What?” Josie asks, just to make sure she hasn’t gone crazy. 

Pomfrey looks up at her, looking just as confused. “Did you hear me?” 

“Yes, I thought that I-” 

“Don’t move.” Pomfrey runs into her office, and comes back with some instruments that Josie recognizes from a few days ago, and after twenty minutes of Pomfrey inspecting her ears, and Josie doing various verbal testing, Pomfrey comes to the conclusion that Josie’s hearing has come back, only with a catch. Apparently, there’s no hearing in her right ear, but Josie can’t tell much of a difference until Pomfrey does a test that points out the change. 

It’s better than  _ nothing _ . Josie can handle being deaf in one ear. 

Pomfrey is grumbling to herself, something about being disappointed in the way her potion has worked, but Josie thinks she’s done great. Josie gives Madam Pomfrey a sheepish shrug, feeling bad for the old woman. Dealing with her, on top of the injuries from the other two girls couldn’t have been fun, and now the poor woman is disappointed in herself. 

“I don’t mind, maybe it’s just taking longer than my other one.” Josie offers. 

“No…” Pomfrey waves her off, “I’ll figure something else out.” She disappears after that, and Josie groans.

“Girlfriend alert.” Alyssa says, and Josie looks at the end of the hall, finding Penelope and Pomfrey talking. 

“Shut up.” Josie tells her. 

Penelope reaches her, “Hi?” 

“Hi.” 

Penelope grins stupidly, “So, your hearing’s back?” 

“In one ear.” Josie answers. 

“So, girlfriend, huh?” 

“What-  _ oh.  _ Alyssa just says that to get on my nerves.” Josie explains, although Penelope doesn’t look very convinced. 

“Has a nice ring to it.” Penelope answers, as if the idea doesn’t bother her at all. The two of them,  _ together?  _ It scares Josie, but the way Penelope smiles soothes her. 

“Yeah,” Josie finds herself agreeing, because it  _ does.  _ After everything, maybe them getting together wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But not now. Not with the tournament still happening, and whatever Penelope was going through. Penelope still hasn’t told her what that whole thing was about, but Josie wasn’t going to press Penelope to tell her anything she didn’t want to. “It does.” 

“Merlin, you two are revolting.” Alyssa comments, gagging dramatically. Pomfrey looks over at her, pausing from tending to Jade’s injuries. Alyssa doesn’t seem bothered, but Josie gives Pomfrey an apologetic smile. 

Penelope laughs, “Where’s Jed?” 

Pomfrey comes up to Josie and Penelope, handing Penelope a small rag, “You can make yourself useful while you’re here,” Pomfrey tells her, and Josie thinks the slightly shocked and offended face Penelope makes is charming in some strange way. “Keep an eye on her ears, they’ll be bleeding soon.” 

Josie makes a disgusted face. Pomfrey didn’t tell her that would be a side effect, and she certainly does not want Penelope to be sitting next to her, waiting to clean up after her. 

“You don’t have to wait.” Josie mumbles, suddenly feeling so self-conscious. 

“I don’t mind.” 

She knows that Penelope’s telling the truth, but she doesn’t like the feeling of having Penelope constantly taking care of her, or distracting her from bigger problems. 

“It’s okay, really.” 

“Josie. Stop being so stubborn.” 

Josie sighs dramatically, but lets Penelope keep an eye on her. They spend two, long hours before Pomfrey checks on Josie again and decides she’s okay enough to leave. 

“There’s been a party in the Gryffindor common room everyday since you won, but everyone’s waiting for you for the  _ real  _ celebration.” Penelope says once they’re out of Pomfrey’s sight. 

“Have you been going?” 

Penelope shrugs, “I may or may not have bonded with your sister a bit, she’s proud that you won, you know.” 

Right. Josie  _ won  _ the first task, by whatever stroke of luck she had. She still can’t wrap her head around the fact, but Penelope says it with a confident smirk that makes Josie feel a little proud of herself. Sure, she didn’t do as well as she had hoped for, but that’s what she gets for allowing herself to get so distracted instead of focusing on the task. 

“Shit, I won.” Josie comments, and Penelope laughs. 

“You won.” 

“I almost missed the task, though.” 

“Well… We won’t do that the night before your next task, then.” Penelope promises, and the promise annoys Josie. 

She shouldn’t be needing to promise Josie that. If it weren’t for Penelope kissing her that night, she could have met with Jade and Alyssa like she had planned to, and been better prepared. 

“Yeah…” 

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Josie lies, and Penelope gives her a look. Of course Penelope can see right through her lie. “It’s just that… It’s stupid, to nearly miss the task becasue somebody couldn't keep their hands to themselves.” 

“Please,” Penelope scoffs, annoyed with the accusation. “ _ You’re _ the one who can’t keep her hands to herself.” 

“ _ You're  _ the one who kissed me.” 

“You could have said no!” 

Josie sucks in a breath. She doesn’t know why she’s so angry. The first task could have gone a lot worse, if she wasn’t as prepared. She could have missed it completely and been disqualified from the whole thing. She’s lucky. Alyssa broke her arm, and Jade almost  _ died _ . Surely, in the back of her mind, she knows her anger at Penelope is misplaced, but her thoughts spill out before she can stop them. And yesterday with Penelope was  _ fun,  _ despite the issue at hand. But at the end of the day, it’s just another distraction. One Josie can’t handle right now. 

“Whatever. This whole thing with you, it’s… it’s a waste of time. A mistake. A distraction.” 

It hurts when they come tumbling out, but she doesn’t do anything to take it back, even when she sees hurt flicker in Penelope’s eyes. 

“So, that’s it?” Penelope spits back. “I’m just a distraction to you?” 

_ No. Of course not. _

“Yes. One I can’t afford right now.” 

“Because of the tournament.” 

Josie hesitates, but she nods. “Yes.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Penelope takes a step forward, seeming to ignore the fact that Josie takes a step back. The moment almost mirrors what had happened in the tent hours ago, and it pains Josie to think that things could change so fast. It was mere hours ago that they were smiling and kissing- and now there’s something in Penelope’s eyes that Josie can’t decipher, but she  _ knows.  _ Knows that she’s messing up, and that Penelope may never forgive her. “You can end us, I don’t care, but I’m not letting you do it over some half-assed excuse. Tell me the truth, Josie.” 

Something in Penelope changes after the words, because suddenly her eyes are wide and brimming with emotion. It makes Josie want to reach out and comfort the girl in front of her, wondering how she could possibly look vulnerable and worn, yet hard at the same time. It reminds Josie of glass that’s just about to shatter. Penelope sucks in a harsh breath, blinks, and the vulnerability is gone, as if it was never there.

“There’s not an  _ us _ for me to end.” Josie answers harshly. 

Penelope laughs, but it comes out strangled and Josie knows the girl well enough to know that it’s to hide her tears. She takes a step back from Josie, shaking her head slightly. 

“Whatever.” Penelope finally huffs out, and leaves before Josie can say anything else.

Josie watches her go, watches Penelope storm down the staircase, towards the Slytherin Common Room rather than the Gryffindor Tower. Penelope leaves with her head held high, as if Josie didn’t just make her cry, and Josie wants to be annoyed. Wants to be annoyed that Penelope has nothing else to say, that Penelope didn’t do anything, but she isn’t. 

Instead, Josie feels upset. She brought it upon herself, after she spoke so harshly to Penelope, but with every step Penelope takes away from her, the more Josie can feel the ache in her chest grow.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss posie. 
> 
> also. sorry for this chapter? i ended up hitting some sort of writers block with this one which literally makes no sense because i already have the next one mostly written??? I came back to this one and edited it so much, then eventually decided to post it before i hated every word of it. theres some angst in this one and i apologize for it.
> 
> hope y'all enjoy

Penelope takes a deep breath, trying to focus on happy thoughts. The task is simple, really, considering that she’s done it numerous times to create a patronus. Unfortunately, the older Penelope gets, the harder it is for her to remember happy memories, and if she  _ does  _ remember them, she’s quickly reminded of what’s gone wrong shortly after. 

She thinks about playing Quidditch with Hope and the rest of her friends, and thinks about laughing in the halls with Maya. Then, even as she wills herself to not go down that path, she finds herself going down a spiral of memories with Josie. 

They don’t help. If anything, they make her feeble attempt at trying to apparate again harder. She’s been attempting the complicated spell for at least an hour, and hasn’t found out what she’s doing wrong. Her father had told her to think happy thoughts, while her books have various methods of becoming familiar with the spell, but none of them help. 

Before Penelope can start singling out certain memories, she hears her door creak open, and a few footsteps that sound rather demanding. 

Hope. 

Hope doesn’t move, or say anything. After a few moments, Penelope elects to ignore her presence, and gets back to her work. Penelope gets through three or four minutes of her standing with her eyes closed, ignoring the fact that she can practically feel Hope burning holes into her face. Instead of thinking about happier memories, she tries thinking about safe places. The living room at the Mikaelson house. The great lake. Josie’s-

“What are you doing?” 

“Shut up, I’m trying to concentrate,” Penelope cracks an eye open, and sees Hope standing in the circle she had painted on the floor hours ago. “Get out of my circle.” 

“Penelope, when was the last time you slept?” 

“Sleep is for the weak.” 

“Pen, seriously, where have you been?” Hope asks, but Penelope ignores her, closing her eyes again. She can hear Hope sigh exasperatedly. “I’ve been worried sick about you. I haven’t seen you in days, you haven’t even come by to sleep!”

“It’s nothing. Get out of my circle!” 

“No! What are you even trying to do?!” Hope demands. She kicks at the circle on the floor, and nothing happens. She lets out an exasperated sigh, barely giving Penelope time to react as she closes the distance between the two of them, and flicks Penelope on the neck.  _ Hard. _

“Ow! What the hell?” Penelope complains, glaring at Hope. 

“Stop it! Can you talk to me like a normal person?” 

“There’s nothing to talk about!” 

Hope sighs. One of those long and exasperated one she gives Penelope whenever she knows that Penelope is lying. She’s not exactly  _ lying  _ to Hope. There is nothing to talk about. What is she going to talk to Hope about? The tournament? It’s none of their business. Landon? Penelope would rather spend the day listening to MG rant about his comic books. Josie? Penelope doesn’t know her anymore. 

There’s a few moments of heavy silence between them, the one that usually only falls when they know the other one is being overly stubborn and won’t change their mind anytime soon. Penelope can practically see the gears turning in Hope’s head as she thinks of something else to say. 

“What are you doing, then?” Hope questions eventually, and Penelope sighs as she collapses onto her bed. She’s tired from attempting the spell all day. Thank god she had thought to make a healing potion before she started. She’s heard the terrible stories of splinching happening to those who failed to apparated correctly. How their body can be torn apart, put in multiple places around the world, or how beginners can lose a limb if they’re not surrounded by the right people. Penelope remembers one story from last year, how a girl named Kathryn had failed to perform the spell properly, and her leg was chopped clean off. Her leg, thanks to Madam Pomfrey was reattached without any problems, aside from the fact that Kathryn was clearly truamatized. Penelope doesn’t think the girl ever showed up to another Apparition class after the incident. 

“Trying to apparate.” Penelope mumbles glumly, and Hope’s eyes widen in shock.

“You could die!” 

“I’m not going to!” Penelope shouts back, her attempt to hide her anger clearly fails. “It’s just a spell! It's not my fault you can’t perform it!” She snaps before Hope can comment on anything else.

“Jeez, what pissed in your cereal?” Hope mumbles, mostly to herself. She’s finally received Penelope’s message that she wants to be left alone, because she grows silent after that, going through a few of her belongings as Penelope stares at their ceiling. 

She didn’t mean to be so snappy with Hope. It’s just that Penelope hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a few days, and it’s been a while since Penelope has actually interacted with anybody. She’s been avoiding her friends, other students and teachers the way she avoids her father. Ever since that day with Josie. Hope doesn’t deserve to hear any shit from Peneloe, especially not after everything Hope has done for her. They’re friends, and Penelope knows that Hope only has her best interests in mind. 

Penelope doesn’t know why she’s still so pissed off about what happened with Josie. She always knew that her and Josie were on a delicate line, and it was always a matter of time before they went crashing down on the wrong side of it. Still, that didn’t stop Penelope from being so inexplicably hurt by Josie’s words. 

_ There’s not an us for me to end. _

Embarrasingly so, the words had hit Penelope like a freight train, had made her chest feel a strange sort of pain that she’s never really felt before. Penelope had always told herself to not get her hopes up with Josie. They’re just two teenagers who are having some fun, not two teenagers that are committed to each other and are in some disgusting relationship while they convince themselves they understand what love is. 

Penelope had allowed herself to get consumed in all things Josie Saltzman. She had enjoyed it for the time being. Listening to Josie laugh over the smallest, stupidest thing Penelope had said, spending time with her doing virtually nothing and enjoying it. 

She’s been avoiding Josie the most. Avoiding Josie as if it would kill her if she ever laid eyes on the girl again. 

Maybe Penelope’s being a bit dramatic, but she doesn’t care. She’s been laying low, staying on campus and meeting her professors outside of school to stay on top of her work. She hasn’t dared to leave campus, knowing that Headmistress Forbes- Josie’s  _ mother  _ of all people would know of her absence, and most likely alert her father- duties of a headmistress, Penelope guesses. 

_ There’s not an us for me to end. _

The words echo through her head again, and Penelope finds herself blinking rapidly to push her tears away. Of course there wasn’t an “us” for Josie to end. They weren’t ever together, but the more Penelope dwells on the words, the more they bother and hurt her. The more Penelope wishes she can just forget them all together and move on. The more she wishes she could go back in time and stop Josie from kissing her all those months ago; last spring semester.  _ That  _ seems like a better idea than just erasing Josie from her mind. 

It was always safer to admire Josie from afar, anyways.

She knows this. Penelope grew up with her mother telling her that some things could do better in her life if she keeps an eye on them from a safe distance. Maybe Josie was one of those instances. She wishes she could ask her mother for advice, but her mother’s gone, and the sudden reminder makes Penelope more upset than she was prepared for. She should have stayed away, kept Josie’s at an arm’s length. And she did, for a while. Until she got comfortable and realized that everything seemed easier once she had Josie as a constant in her life- something she needed desperately after her mother died. 

“I’m sorry,” Penelope finally voices, her voice hoarse as if she’s been screaming all day. She clears her throat awkwardly, leaning on her elbows as she observes Hope from across the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be pissed off at you.”

Hope shrugs, and Penelope wonders if her friend even hears her apology. Now that she’s not stuck in her own headspace, she can clearly tell that Hope’s going through her own dilemma as she doesn’t even look over at Penelope. Hope, strangely, given how stubborn they are, is usually the more vocal one in their friendship, which is honestly not saying much.

“Hope?” Penelope presses.

Her friend lets out a disgruntled grunt. 

Penelope watches as Hope goes through her things, seeming to organize them in a chaotic way. It takes Penelope a few moments to realize that Hope’s separating all of the Hufflepuff colors that have found its way into Hope’s sea of Slytherin. 

“What are you doing?” Penelope asks, and Hope throws a Hufflepuff sweater to the ground, one that Penelope’s seen her wear during the colder months, a few sizes too big on her. She assumes that her and Landon had a fight, but they’re the type of couple that doesn’t fight, not really. One of them always ends up forgiving the other a few days later, and it’s always over something completely stupid. 

“Nothing.” 

“Did you and Landon fight again?” 

“No, we broke up.” Hope answers so nonchalantly, that if Penelope didn’t know that her and Landon have been together for almost a year, she would have thought that Landon was some three day fling for her. She’s ready to storm her way to the Hufflepuff Common Room and demand answers from Landon, and make him regret his choice of ever letting Hope go. Honestly, Penelope had always thought that Hope would take the break up with him hard, despite Hope acting like she’s above all those feelings. 

“What? When?” 

“Correction,  _ I  _ broke up with him.”

“W-why?” Penelope splutters like an idiot. Last she saw Hope and Landon, they were happy. Things weren’t perfect, but when are they ever? 

Hope shrugs. “I didn’t feel like being with him anymore.” 

Penelope stares at her, watching the way Hope sorts through her clothes. There’s no urgency to her movements, and Hope doesn’t look the slightest bit upset over her relationship ending. It’s a bit nerve-wracking. Penelope always wonders how Hope manages to control her emotions so well, even with her family history. If anything, Hope looks… Lighter? Happier? Penelope had always joked about Landon holding her back, and it almost pains her to see that she was right. 

“I know when you’re lying to me, Hope.”

“I’m not lying.” 

“Yes, you are.” 

“No, I’m not. I broke up with him because I didn’t want to be with him anymore, I thought about it for weeks.” 

Penelope gasps dramatically. “There’s somebody else, isn’t there?” 

“What? No, I’m not a cheater!” Hope looks insulted by the idea, but Penelope knows her too well.

“I never said you were!” Penelope defends, watching as Hope relaxes a bit as she withdrawals her accusation, “But you got feelings for somebody else, didn’t you?” 

“Don’t matter.” Hope huffs, slowly getting more pissed off. Penelope sighs and decides to back off, not prepared for anything that would stem from Hope’s stubbornness right now. Hope goes back to organizing her things from Landon’s, and Penelope goes back to staring at the ceiling. 

She wonders where Maya is, since it feels like weeks since Penelope has seen the girl. Before Penelope can ask if this new mysterious person in Hope’s romantic life is Maya, Hope gives her a pointed look.

“It’s not Maya.” 

Penelope grins, “There was that one time you two kissed at that party last year-” 

Hope wacks her with the first thing in her hands, which so happens to be a sweater. “Shut up.”

“You have a habit of kissing your friends, Hope.” 

Hope rolls her eyes, “Not my fault girls are such great kissers.” She grumbles underneath her breath, only causing Penelope to smile. 

Penelope nods to the pile of folded clothes in Hope’s arms, “Are you giving those back to him?” 

“No, I'm burning them.” Hope replies in a tone that’s deathly serious, but Penelope can see the corners of her mouth twitch up in a faint smile. They  _ should  _ burn them, it would save Hope the embarrassing trek back to Hufflepuff dorms to return them, but when Penelope gets up excitedly, happy at the idea of burning something, Hope elbows her. “I’m returning them, he asked if I could.” 

“Boring.” 

Penelope ends up walking with Hope as she returns Landon’s things to him, and she watches the entire, very awkward exchange between Hope and Landon. It’s mostly awkward thanks to Landon, and Hope looks more annoyed than upset at seeing him again. The strange interaction takes longer than it needs to, and the moment the door shuts, locking Landon back into the common room, Penelope’s more than happy to walk away, dragging Hope behind her. 

They barely make it out of the staircase leading to the main hallway when Alyssa Chang runs past them, a wild smile on her face. Hope and Penelope watch her go, not exactly sure what, or who the Beauxbatons student is running from. At least she seems to be enjoying her time at Hogwarts much more than she did a few weeks ago. 

Seconds later, Josie’s running after Alyssa, face red from the exertion, and she looks thoroughly annoyed at the other girl. Once Josie reaches the opposite end of the hall, her and Alyssa start arguing loudly, gathering a few looks from passing students. Eventually, Josie just sighs, pulling at the tie around her neck and throws it into Alyssa’s face. Penelope doesn’t miss the fact that it’s green and silver, rather than red and yellow. It hits her in some strange way that Josie’s wearing-  _ was  _ wearing one of Penelope’s ties, even after everything she had said.

Josie stalks off after that, and Penelope’s not sure what to make of the entire interaction that she just witnessed. 

“Aren’t you going to ask Josie if she’s okay?” Hope questions, and Penelope bites the inside of her cheek. She’s successfully avoided Josie for nearly two weeks, and she isn’t about to ruin her streak just because Josie is upset over something that is out of Penelope’s control. 

“No.” 

“But-” 

“I’m avoiding her.” Penelope snaps before Hope can ask any questions, or point out the obvious. 

“I thought you two finally made it official?” 

“No, she ended it,” Penelope answers quickly, praying that Hope doesn’t pry for more information. Her and Hope stare at each other, and Penelope’s praying that Hope can’t read everything she’s been trying to hide. Hope looks at her expectantly, and Penelope sighs. “She called me a distraction and a waste of her time, so she ended it.” 

“Josie said that? Are you  _ serious?”  _ Hope demands, angered at the mere thought of it. Penelope’s suddenly glad that Josie had already left the hall, or she’s sure that she would be suffering the wrath of a Mikaelson right about now. Hope even pushes her sleeves up, as if to only prove her anger. “I’m going to kill her.” 

“Hogwarts still needs a champion.” Penelope drawls, used to Hope’s bursts of anger. “Not to mention, the Headmistress would expel you if you killed her daughter.” 

“No she won’t, I’m a Mikaelson.” Hope tells her as she starts to walk off in the direction Josie had disappeared, and Penelope rolls her eyes as she grabs the back of Hope’s shirt. 

“You’re not killing Josie.” 

“I’m not killing Josie.” Hope mirrors, sounding a bit too glum at the development. 

“Thank you.” Penelope says quietly, although it's uncharacteristically nice of her. 

* * *

Penelope manages to avoid Josie for another week after that. 

Avoid isn’t the right word, because Penelope runs into her in the halls a few times before class, or Penelope sees Josie and Alyssa in the infirmary to check on Jade. Penelope still has her Divination class with Josie, and most of that time is spent with Penelope ignoring every word Josie whispers to her.

Penelope ignores Josie every day for a week. She ignores Josie’s whispered apologies, Josie’s attempts to start any sort of conversation with her. Penelope feels guilty everytime she does, but then she remembers what Josie had said to her, and she gets filled with rage instead. Hope seems to change her opinion trying to kill Josie when she witnesses Josie’s attempt to apologize when they’re in the middle of the hall. 

The next time she talks to Josie, Josie’s stealing Penelope’s order of butterbeer at Hog’s Head. Penelope’s surprised to see Josie at the crowded bar. She had thought that Josie would be spending her weekend with Alyssa, preparing for the second task, rather than drinking with her friends. 

Penelope glares at her, and Josie shifts nervously, holding the mug of butterbeer out of Penelope’s reach. Penelope thinks about ordering another one, not really having time to deal with Josie. She’s supposed to be hanging out with Hope and the Machado siblings. 

“I’m sorry.” Josie blurts. 

“For stealing my Butterbeer? Or for calling me a waste of time? Oh, and me being a mistake? A  _ distraction. _ Are there any other secret feelings-” 

“Penelope,” Josie cuts her off, “I’m trying to apologize.” 

“I don’t want your apology.” 

“Please, I just want to make it up to you, there has to be something I can do.” 

Penelope pretends to ponder for a few moments, then sighs. “You can give me my butterbeer back.” 

Josie looks defeated, but she hands Penelope her drink back, and without another word, she leaves the Gryffndor at the bar, walking in the direction she had last seen Hope. Penelope doesn’t feel like drinking anymore, or talking to anybody for that matter, but she downs her butterbeer just as Hope bursts back into the building, her face red, hair disheveled and lipstick smudged on her cheek. 

Penelope stares at her friend, trying to remember the last time she has seen her so flustered and confused. Her gaze singles on the person walking in behind Hope. 

Lizzie Saltzman. Readjusting her robes and wiping her mouth before she walks in the other direction, most likely in search for Josie. 

“Mikaelson.” Penelope says, snapping her fingers in Hope’s face to get the girl out of her stupor. 

“Yes?” Hope practically yelps, wiping her cheek as she finally realizes that Penelope is watching her. 

“Did you seriously just do a quickie with Lizzie Saltzman?” 

“I…  _ No!  _ I would never,” Hope insists, “My family raised me better than that.” Hope sighs when she knows that Penelope hasn’t accepted her answer, running her fingers through her hair in a failed attempt to fix it. “You can’t tell anybody, Lizzie’s not sure what she wants yet, and I just broke up with Landon, it’s… complicated.” 

“Both Saltzman’s are.” Penelope answers. 

“I thought you talked to Josie?” 

“I did.” 

“And?” 

“I told her to leave me alone, since I’m such a distraction.” 

“Oh, my god,” Hope gasps dramatically. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

“Nothing!” 

“You’re such a baby! She says a few things that she  _ clearly  _ doesn’t mean, has been trying to apologize to you for nearly a month _ ,  _ and you don’t even give her a chance? Did she really hurt your ego that much?”

“No.” 

“Then talk to her.”

“What? No!” 

“Yes!” 

“No!” 

Hope rolls her eyes, “Communication is key. Who said you had to accept her apology? Just tell her what you’re feeling.” 

Fifteen minutes later, after her and Hope argue some more, and Penelope finishes off her mug of butterbeer, Penelope finds herself kicking Lizzie, MG, and Raf out of the booth they’re seated at. 

Josie stares at her, her mouth slightly agape as her friends start complaining among themselves, and Penelope shoos them off. 

“Why did you do that?” Josie demands, and Penelope just gives her a shrug. 

“I thought maybe we could talk.” 

Josie bites her lower lip, a nervous tick that Penelope has always found strangely adorable. She finds herself swallowing roughly. She’s not here to think about how adorable Josie is. She’s here to have a conversation with Josie, like a  _ normal  _ person. Penelope can handle that, she used to do it before. 

“I’m so sorry, I just-” 

“Stop apologizing,” Penelope finds herself saying, growing tired of hearing the words from Josie. Josie only seems to grow more nervous at Penelope’s words, fiddling with the edge of her sleeves. “You said what you meant.” 

“I didn’t mean it,” Josie argues. “I was just… I was frustrated over nothing. I wanted to take it back the moment I said it.” 

Penelope suddney wishes that she has another mug of butterbeer, just so she has something else to focus on, something that isn’t the way Josie’s looking at her. Penelope thinks of everything she can say, everything she  _ should  _ say, but she ends up shrugging. 

“I’m over it. You should just forget about it.” 

Josie bites on her lip again. “I, uh…” 

An unwanted silence falls between them as Josie struggles to find the right words, and Penelope sighs. She doesn’t know what she had expected when she sat down, but the conversation hasn’t gone where she hoped it would, which seems to be her fault. 

“We, uh… We can try being friends?” 

Josie perks up at the idea, with a smile that makes Penelope want to lean across the table and kiss her. Penelope bites her lip.  _ She’s  _ the one who proposes the idea of attempting to be friends, and she can’t even get a full minute into it without wanting to kiss her? 

“I like that idea.” Josie answers, and Penelope manages to match her smile. 

“Cool.” She replies lamely. Cool?  _ Cool?  _ How old is she? Twelve? 

“Cool.” Josie mirrors. 

“Did you know that Hope and Lizzie are a thing?” 

Josie chokes on her drink at the comment, and Penelope groans internally. She probably sounds fucking stupid. She wishes that she could blame it on the butterbeer, but she knows her awkwardness is just coming from herself. 

The two of them end up looking over at Hope and Lizzie, who are bickering like there’s no tomorrow. Just as Penelope had expected, thanks to her being an idiot, the conversation dies out and Penelope makes some half assed excuse to leave. She leaves in a hurry, tugging Hope out with her.

* * *

Later that weekend, Penelope and Hope are sitting in their dorm, trying to figure out how Penelope can perfect apparating. 

Penelope tells Hope that she needs to go to her father’s office, that she needs to look through all the files he has stored away. After the time she was stuck in it, with him demanding answers she didn’t have, she’s decided that she needs to figure out what he’s hiding from her. Hope, thankfully, agrees, even with the risks of them getting caught or even expelled from Hogwarts. 

It takes an hour of them trying before Penelope successfully apparates both of them, and they both fall into her father’s office. 

“Holy shit,” Hope mumbles, “I think I might throw up.” 

Penelope hands her a trash can, turning her attention to her father’s desk. She only gets through a few files before Hope slaps her, grabbing her attention. 

“Do you really think he would hide it where anybody could look?” 

Penelope stares at Hope for a few moments. Hope has a point. Her father is the Minister of magic, after all. There’s probably a hundred other places he would hide some vital information. Who knows what he does with everything he doesn’t want her to find out about? She doubts he would ever take it out of the Ministry. 

“I… Well, he’s got to hide it somewhere, right?” Penelope answers. “He wouldn’t hide it at home.” 

Hope sighs, and opens the other drawer, starting to sort through those files herself as Penelope tries to come up with other places. Maybe in Marcus’ office? Another person that her father works closely with? 

Penelope freezes. Looks over in the corner, her eyes falling on the pensieve. She’s never used one before. She’s seen her father use it countless times growing up. There’s eveon one in the Headmistress’ office back at Hogwarts. Hope stops flipping through a file when she realizes that Penelope has become distracted. 

Penelope gives Hope a look. She grows more uncertain by the second, but she makes her way towards the pensieve, Hope close behind her. 

“Do you really think he took his own memories?” Hope whispers. 

Penelope doesn’t answer. Was her father really that desprate to protect himself? From whatever mistakes he’s made? Desprate enough to take his own memories away from him, just to hide them?  _ Who  _ could he ever hide them from? She opens the cabinet next to it, greeted by a bunch of small vials that are filled with this strange gray, smoky looking substance. 

After pushing around for a few minutes, she finds two vials that are nearly identical, other than the labels on them. Penelope looks at the numbers written on the vials, starting to get confused by them. 

“Wait,” Hope whispers. “That’s the day my parents went missing.” 

“Hope-” Penelope starts, but Hope rips the vial out of her hand. 

“Pen, I don’t-” 

“It’s a bad idea!” Penelope argues, trying to take the vial back, but Hope manages to uncap it, pouring it into the pensieve. 

“I deserve to know! Don’t I?!” Hope demands when Penelope doesn’t answer right away. 

“Of course you do.” Penelope whispers. She’s never wanted to make Hope feel like she doesn’t. If anything, she wants to find answers about Hope’s parents just as much as Hope does. 

They’ve never used a pensieve before, but it can’t be very hard, can it? 

“How do we look at it?” Hope asks. 

“I think we just look into the pensieve? Or we-” 

The two of them are suddenly standing in the forest, Penelope’s father and Marcus standing besides a fire.

_ “I don’t want anything about this to get out,” her father orders Marcus. “As far as we know, the Mikaelsons have ran away. They decided that the stress of their family was too much.”  _

_ “Sir, we can’t just-”  _

_ “They’re gone! We know nothing of it, do you understand me?”  _

_ “Yes, sir.” _

_ Marcus disappears, and her father turns to the fire suddenly. Despite the raging fire around it, Penelope can easily see what is in the fire. A shirt, with the Mikaelson Crest on it.  _

They’re both in her father’s office, just as if they didn’t take a dive into her father’s memories. The memory is shorter and more confusing than Penelope had ever anticipated it would be. When she looks over at Hope, she looks smaller and won’t meet Penelope’s gaze. 

“Hope…” Penelope whispers, trying to find her voice. “Hope, I had no idea that-” 

That her father what? Killed Hope’s parents? Made them disappear without a trace? That he destroyed part of her best friend’s life without owning up to it? That he lied to their faces about it? 

“I don’t want to fucking see you right now,” Hope seethes. “I don’t want  _ anything  _ to do with you, got it?” 

Penelope swallows roughly. “We need to get back to the school first.” 

Looking over Hope’s shoulder, Penelope’s heart drops. The door to her father’s office was shut when they arrived, but now it was wide open, light from the hallway pouring into the poorly lit office. 

Caustiousy, Penelope leaves Hope by the pensieve. When she steps out into the hallway, it’s surprisingly empty. She had expected her father to send people after them, or for there to be a sign of life. Instead, it looks like nobody has walked the halls in months. 

“Penelope?” Hope’s in the doorway, watching her carefully.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Penelope whips around, only to be greeted by a group of men. Penelope’s sure that she grew up with them watching her when her father was too busy, but she doesn’t wait to see if she recongizes any of them.

“Run!” Hope’s grabbing Penelope’s hand, and they’re both running down the hall. 

Penelope can hear the men yelling after them, but she ignores themand their threats as she pushes Hope to the right, knowing the hallway too well. Unfortunately, when they take the turn, they’re greeted by a few older people. All of them have their wands pointed at them, and Penelope grabs Hope’s hand this time. 

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. 

It only takes seconds of her focusing, but her and Hope fall with a large crash, and Penelope’s bracing herself for an attack of spells from the group of men, waiting for the sounds of explosions, but it never comes as they collide with the floor. Hope’s arms are bracketed around Penelope’s head, bracing herself as well. 

After a few, strange, silent moments, Penelope opens her eyes and peaks over Hope’s shoulder. When she looks, they’re not surrounded by dust and debris, but they’re surrounded by a bunch of students- mostly Hogwart students staring down at them, cups in their hands. Penelope singles out the crest on some of their shirts. There’s a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but when Penelope looks around more, she realizes where they are. 

The Gryffindor Common Room. 

Penelope groans and pushes Hope off of her roughly, and their audience still doesn’t move. It’s clear that her and Hope have rudely interrupted their party, and she grumbles a bit to herself as she dusts off her pants and straightens out her shirt. 

“What?” She snaps, and a few people hide behind their drinks. “What are you all staring at?” 

At that, somebody rolls their eyes, and another mumbles a silencing spell around the room. Music starts blasting, vibrating through the floor, and Penelope shares a nervous glance with Hope. 

“You just  _ had  _ to apparate here.” Hope practically scolds, as if she could have done better than Penelope.

“Right, like I can control where I apparate. I told you that was my problem! If you apparated, we’d be missing limbs right now!” 

Hope scoffs at the accusation. “If you weren’t so obsessed with your father, you wouldn’t have to apparate in the first place! Why can’t you just talk to him like a normal person?!” 

“Please,” Penelope drawls, “Like you and your father were the epitome of communication.” 

Hope glares at her, and before she can defend herself, Hope has one of the cushions from the couch and is repeatedly hitting her with it. Penelope can’t help but laugh at the action, because how old are they? Nine? Penelope attempts to stop Hope’s sudden attack, but she fails miserably as she falls to the ground again. 

“Keep my father,” A whack. “Out of,” Another whack, harder this time. “Your fucking mouth.”

Penelope grows more annoyed, anger starting to course through her veins as she decides to accept her role at the short end of Hope’s anger. After everything they discovered in her father’s office, she understands why Hope is frustrated and upset. 

Penelope manages to knock the pillow out of Hope’s hands, which only causes the situation to escalate. She’s deprived Hope of her weapon, which only causes her to turn to next available ones: Her fists. They’re rolling on the ground, and a few punches land (mostly from Hope) before Penelope manages to shove Hope off of her, not hesitating to punch her back. She doesn’t  _ want  _ to hurt Hope, but she starts to fight back. 

Hope’s always been physically stronger than Penelope, something she always blamed on the way Hope trained for Quidditch, so it doesn’t take long before Penelope’s pinned under Hope again.

“Hope!” Penelope manages out, her voice strained. “I didn’t know!” She attempts to grab a hold of Hope’s wrists, but her attempt is futile. Hope breaks through her grasp easily, and they’re both throwing more punches. Penelope only lands a few before somebody is pulling Hope off of her. 

She sits up, watching as Hope struggles against Lizzie and MG, and somebody is pulling on the back of her shirt, starting to pull her away from Hope and their scuffle. 

“Your father’s the reason why my parents disappeared!” Hope shouts at her, through tears.

Penelope stumbles to her feet, pushing at the person who had tugged on her shirt. She hesitates to answer Hope, the pain from their scuffle beginning to settle in, weighing heavy on her shoulders. She laughs coldy, mostly to herself as she tastes something metallic on her tongue. She didn’t  _ know.  _ How is supposed to convince Hope that she truly had no idea what her father was up to? That if Penelope  _ had  _ known, she would have done anything to get answers from her father, that she would have told Hope? 

“I didn’t know!” Penelope spits back, then touches her lip. Her fingers are coated with a bit of blood when she inspects them, and she curses under her breath. Her best friend hates her now. Rightfully so. Her father always seemed to screw things up for her, so why would her friendship with Hope be any different?

People are staring at the two of them again, but Penelope ignores all of them as she grabs a cup from the nameless boy next to her, not hesitating to down his cup of butterbeer. He gives her an odd look, but after a cold stare, he mumbles to himself and disappears to pour himself another cup. 

“Pen…” 

She doesn’t let Josie’s voice register in her ears- she  _ refuses  _ to let it as she pushes through the mass of people, feeling victorious when she finds the table of drinks waiting for her. The same boy she stole the drink from is there, still pouring himself some butterbeer. He looks too protective over alcohol when he recognizes her, but she ignores him, twisting the cap off the nearest bottle of FireWhiskey, throwing the cap behind her haphazardly. 

Without hesitation, she takes a few large sips, straight from the bottle, ignoring the way the liquid burns her lip before her throat. Josie’s watching her with careful eyes. Penelope shakes her head at the girl’s presence. Could this night get any worse? She doesn’t need to deal with Josie on top of everything. 

What she needs is to give Hope some space. While she does that, she’ll get answers from her father. Demand that she knows about Hope’s parents, if she can find them. All she has to do is talk to her dad. That can’t be too hard, right?

Penelope tries to count the time in her head, trying to figure out how much she’ll need to do all of those things, but the large amount of alcohol she’s consumed a few moments ago is already affecting her. 

She must look like shit. She  _ feels  _ like shit, after her fight with Hope. 

“Penelope?” 

It’s Josie, her voice softer than ever. Much to Penelope’s surprise, Josie doesn’t attempt to take the FireWhiskey out of her hands, even when Penelope decides to take a few more sips. 

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.” Penelope answers, not quite looking at Josie. She doesn’t really want to, because then she’ll get pulled back in. It all feels inevitable, and that no matter how hard Penelope tries to avoid Josie, tries to act like Josie isn’t standing near her, a part of her will always want the girl. 

“Penelope, your face is bleeding.” 

“Oh.” 

She ends up shrugging, taking another sip. 

“Can I-” 

“I don’t care.” 

“You should clean it before it gets infected. Or visit Madam Pomfrey.” 

Penelope scoffs. She’s not stupid enough to visit Pomfrey over a few stupid cuts and bruises, espically after she’s had some FireWhiskey. That’s just a recipe for a disaster. Pomfrey would just end up reporting her to the headmistress, and Penelope will end up getting detention for something completely stupid. 

“Fine,” Penelope settles for. “I’ll go clean up.”

“No,” Josie orders. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” 

When she turns and disappears into the crowd, Penelope mumbles to herself. She waits  obediently , though. She tells herself it's because she can’t walk herself back to the Slytherin dorms and face Hope, certainly not  _ now.  _ Not being able to face Hope may be one of the reasons, but deep down, she knows another part is because she wants to be near Josie. 

She always finds some sort of comfort near Josie. Even when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

Penelope’s in the middle of downing more FireWhiskey when Josie reappears, yanking the bottle out of her hand forcefully. 

The way Josie grabs Penelope’s hand after is so gentle and soft, Penelope thinks that Josie’s afraid of breaking her, as if Penelope isn’t already broken. Silently, Josie leads her out of the common room, and towards the stairs of the Gryffindor Tower. Penelope sits down, feeling small and defeated at the day's events. 

Josie sits next to her, their knees brushing as Josie tends to the cuts on Penelope’s face, then the small ones on her knuckles. Josie takes longer than she should, inspecting carefully, but her fingers linger here and there every once in a while. Penelope sighs dramatically once Josie decides that she’s done a good enough of a job cleaning Penelope up. The ground is spinning around them, but Penelope doesn’t mention it as her hand falls to Josie’s wrist, not quite ready for Josie to leave her.

Then, stupidly enough- she leans forward. Josie’s hands are suddenly on her shoulders, their foreheads pressed together as she whispers, “Penelope, you’re drunk.” 

Penelope blinks stupidly. Leans back until her back hits the cool tile beneath them, then she laughs humorlessly.

Is she really  _ crying  _ right now? She doesn’t know why she’s been so affected by Josie’s words. Of course, whatever they had was nothing. She should have known that the first time Josie kissed her, but it had felt nice to be wanted like  _ that _ . 

Or wanted, at all. Sure, she has Hope, and she loves Hope to death, along with the rest of the Mikaelsons, and they’ll always accept her with open arms. 

Penelope bites the inside of her mouth when she remembers that Hope wants nothing to do with her anymore. Because of something her  _ father  _ did. 

With Josie, it was all  _ different.  _ She didn’t have to try to get on Marcel’s good side, or try her best to impress Klaus. She didn’t have to prove to Hayley and Rebekah that she’s worth their time, that she’s worth being Hope’s friend _.  _ It’s part of why Penelope always got along with Freya and Keelin better. As much as they were Mikaelsons, they struggled just as much as Penelope did to get there. Was it worth it, the moment Klaus dedicated a toast to her, calling her his second daughter, or Hayley pulling her into a hug? Of course it was, because she finally belonged somewhere. She never fit in with her father. 

But with Josie, she didn’t even have to try. She didn’t have to prove to Josie that she was worth her time, or that she’s a knowledgeable witch. Josie just seemed to already know those things about her, and always seemed to make time for Penelope. Josie didn’t seem to care if Penelope was frustrated or upset, and she had just let Penelope be herself. She had made Penelope feel like she could be herself, without trying to live up to her father’s reputation, or even her own. 

Then Josie called her a mistake. A  _ distraction,  _ and suddenly Penelope realized what it all was: nothing. 

Nothing to Josie, at least. 

The words Josie spit out at her reminded her of the ones she heard from her father growing up, and they stunned Penelope in a way words have not hurt her before. It’s her fault, after all. Getting so attached to Josie, believing that Josie wouldn’t ever intentionally hurt her. 

“I just… I never meant to be a burden.” She chokes out, and quickly regrets it. She usually manages to keep her emotions in check, even after a few drinks, or in this case, half a bottle of Firewhiskey. 

Clearly, she’s failing this time, or she finally reached the limit for her secrets. 

“W-what?” Josie stutters. 

“My father always tells me I’m a burden.” 

“Penelope…”

“I got over it. Who cares what he thinks, right? But then I found out something terrible today, and I just… Hope wants nothing to do with me anymore, and she’s my best friend.” 

“She doesn’t hate you.” 

“You don’t know what she knows.” Penelope whispers gravely, barely understanding herself as she speaks. 

“She’ll get over it.” Josie comments confidently. 

“I’m a burden.” Penelope repeats. She doubts she makes any sense, after everything that she’s drunk tonight and all the thoughts she’s trying to voice, but can’t. 

“Nobody’s a burden.” Josie mumbles, and Penelope thinks it sounds like Josie’s crying, too. 

“You are  _ not  _ a burden, Penelope.” Josie promises. 

Penelope can only count all the ways Josie is wrong. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plz enjoy :)

Josie gets no sleep.

Ever since she was young, her mother would find her roaming their house a strange time throughout the nights. Josie has always blamed it on something simple, like the wind blowing through the cracks in the house and causing that faint whistling sound, or blamed it on the tree right outside her window, stating that the branches had scraped against the glass, waking her up.

She doubts her mother ever believed those excuses, because she would calmly make her and Josie a cup of tea, and talk to Josie in her soothing voice until she fell asleep on the couch. Her mother would talk about anything and everything other than whatever worried Josie and kept her up at night.

Josie doesn’t sleep when she’s worried.

Which means she’s been getting practically no sleep this semester at Hogwarts. 

Between things with Penelope, to the Triwizard Tournament, to Jade still being unconscious in the infirmary after their encounter with the Gargoyle, Josie hasn’t slept in nearly five days. Maybe six? Or is it four? Josie has no idea anymore, and at this point has given up on counting the days. Who said any normal person needs sleep? She’ll just crash somewhere and catch up on it, right?

There was that one time in the dining hall when she was so tired, that she dozed off for a few moments when she was eating lunch with Lizzie and MG. 

Plus, that time when she was listening to Landon rant in the Hufflepuff common room, and she ended up falling asleep with her head in Rafael’s lap, but mostly because he was playing with her hair in a comforting way that she wishes he would do more often. Sadly, Rafael had woken her up a mere fifteen minutes later, stating he had to get to class. 

Embarrassingly so, Josie has come to the realization that she also slept better whenever she was with Penelope. Okay, not exactly  _ with  _ her, but Josie always seemed to sleep a bit better when her and Penelope interacted daily, rather than laying in bed with worry eating away at her.

What is she supposed to do about it? Approach Penelope and go,  _ hey I know things are rocky between us right now, but can you talk to me for a few hours so I can sleep tonight?  _

No way in hell is Josie doing that. She’ll just end up making a fool out of herself, and Penelope has her own things to worry about. Josie doesn’t want to distract her, or possibly make her problems worse. Penelope hasn’t told her about them, but she hasn’t pressed for any more information, not after how she saw Penelope the night her and Hope apparated into the Gryffindor Common Room. 

Josie has no way on how to approach the situation. Penelope was going off on some drunk tangent about her father, and how he has done some unforgivable things. Josie had done her best to listen, but the more that Penelope had spoken that night, the more Josie became confused and concerned for her. To make matters worse, it seems that Penelope has started to avoid Josie again. Maybe rightfully so, but Josie hates the feeling- add that to the list of things that keep Josie up at night. She never seems to get things right with the Slytherin, no matter how hard Josie tries. 

She’s debated on brewing some sleeping potions, but has given up on the idea since they’re nearly impossible to get right, and she could potentially put herself into a coma, which just seems counterproductive to her. She doesn’t want to explain to her mother why she’s brewing potentially lethal potions, anyways. 

Josie could try the muggle approach, take a Benadryl or two, but she was forgetful while packing all of those months ago and doesn’t even have muggle tricks up her sleeves that can help. 

Which has led Josie to find two new pastimes. 

The first one is nothing new, really. The castle she lives in is simply so big, that nobody her age knows every aspect of it. She’ll spend a few hours wandering the halls alone, even the floors they’re not allowed to go to, or find hallways that she didn’t even know existed. The only downside is that she’s gotten lost a few times, something that she finds embarrassing. There’s been a couple of times when she had run into other students, or hid from professors to avoid detention. There was that one awkward night when Josie overheard a heated argument between Professor Tig and Professor Williams that led to an… interesting outcome. Let’s just say that Josie stopped roaming  _ that  _ particular spot of the castle. 

Her second one is her staying in her dorm all night while Lizzie sleeps soundly in her own bed. Josie either reads, or works on assignments. 

This night isn’t much different, other than Josie has a few boxes of chocolate frogs. She freed them, letting them roam around her dorm. Growing up, she never had the heart to eat them, even if they are just enchanted chocolate. Every now and then, she can hear a few of them croak out to each other, and she’s thankful that Lizzie’s always been a bit of a heavy sleeper, or the chocolate frogs would have already woken her. 

Under the light from her wand, Josie inspects the cards she’s received from the boxes. Her and Lizzie had always collected them, but it’s been a while. 

She stares at one particular card, one that she’s been staring at nearly all night. 

A part of her knows it’s not healthy, that it’s just an enchanted card and staring at it all night isn’t going to help her solve any of her problems, but it makes her feel a bit better.

Her fingers trace over the name printed on the card.  _ Tobias Park _ . His picture for the card must’ve been taken years ago, when he first became the minister. He has the same striking eyes as Penelope, but that’s where their similarities begin and end. 

Josie hates him. Hates that he’s still running the ministry of magic. Before, she was always too young to know, or even care. But now, after the way Penelope has talked about him in the few times he’s been mentioned, to the way he always appears to be stand-offish and guarded in interviews, Josie knows he can’t be trusted. 

She’s thought about diving more into the thousands of sources of information on him, but she just can’t bring herself to do it. The majority of the information on him in the past two years has revolved around the death of Penelope’s mother, and Josie didn’t want to pry into an aspect of Penelope’s life that Penelope hasn’t shared with her on her own terms. 

Josie knows the general information that the entire wizarding world knows. Echo Park was murdered brutally and found by Tobias Park, her murder has yet to be caught, despite the numbers of Aurors sent after them. 

It’s been nearly two years, and still no evidence that points to the murderer, or what exactly happened that night. Josie can’t imagine what Penelope had gone through in the first few months following the events, knowing that almost every time her and her father appeared at the ministry, their every move was being documented. 

One of the chocolate frogs she lost track of hours ago jumps onto the bed next to her, distracting her from her train of thought.

Josie has thought that it would have found its way out of her dorm, or melted in some inconvenient spot for her to find the next day, but it sits perched on the corner of her bed, almost as if it’s waiting for instructions. 

It takes a small hop towards her after a few moments, and Josie resists the urge to fling it across the room. Blinks at her. Once, then twice. 

“What?” She murmurs. “I’m just looking at the cards.”

She knows it doesn’t understand her. It’s a chocolate frog and has no conscience, no mind of its own. The frog continues to sit there and stare at her, as if it  _ does  _ understand what is happening, and that what Josie’s doing is not normal.

It even dares to tilt its head a bit when Josie pushes the empty boxes to the floor haphazardly. 

Then it croaks.  _ Loudly. _

“Hey!” Josie hisses at it, “Be quiet, Lizzie is sleeping!”

It croaks again, quieter than before, and Josie swears that it sounds like the chocolate frog is asking her question. 

“I am going to bed!” She insists. “... soon?”

If a frog could roll its eyes, Josie is sure it does exactly that. After another particularly demanding croak, Josie sighs defeatedly and decides to name the chocolate frog Jeb. There’s no harm in it, is there? 

There’s not. At least that's what Josie tells herself, because it’s just a frog made out of chocolate. She’s never kept one long enough to know they sometimes decide to stick around. When she holds out her hand for him, he jumps into it and Josie puts him on the dresser next to her bed. Hopefully, he won’t still be staring at her when she wakes up, or melted by that time. She’s not sure which idea is worse.

Josie manages to get a few hours of sleep that night, and it doesn’t help when Lizzie wakes up screaming, surprised by the presence of one of Josie’s rogue chocolate frogs. 

One the bright side, Lizzie has served as Josie’s alarm clock and gotten her awake in time for her classes.

Her classes drag on, the way they usually do when she’s tired or Penelope has elected to skip, leaving Josie to fend for herself and fight off boredom, or in this case, sleeping in the middle of her class.

Josie’s walking to her last class of the week when her mouth is suddenly covered by somebody’s hand, arm around her waist as they pull her into a closet. Josie’s first instinct, grossly so, she admits, is to bite the hand clamped over her mouth as she twists to face whoever has yanked her away from the hall. 

She can’t see well in the sudden dark, so she takes an aimless guess as she attacks again, punching them in the face.

“Ow,  _ ow!  _ Josie, It’s me!” 

Josie freezes once she realizes who her kidnapper is. Penelope, holding her nose as Josie suddenly tries to apologize, but Penelope waves her off, as if she did not just pull Josie into a closet. 

“I’m so sorry!” Josie says loudly, going to inspect the damage she has caused but Penelope refuses to let her look, covering and poking at her nose herself. Eventually, Josie sighs with a pout as she takes a step back from her, deciding to give Penelope some space.

Josie laughs to herself a bit. 

She’s in a closet with Penelope Park. How ironic.

“What are you doing, pulling me in like that?!” Josie demands when Penelope makes no move to explain her actions, too busy with her nose. “Will you quit poking it? You’re only going to make the pain worse!” Josie finds herself scolding. 

“You broke it!” Penelope whines, but she listens to Josie’s request, her hands falling to her sides hesitantly, as if she wanted to place them elsewhere.

“I did not!” 

Penelope rolls her eyes dramatically.

“I need your help.” Penelope tells Josie in this deathly serious tone, “With something very important. You can’t tell anyone about it. Not even Lizzie.”

“If it's something with dark magic-”

“It’s not,” Penelope promises. “It’s just some research... Sort of? Maybe your mom knows about it, I tried looking in our library and I couldn’t find anything about it. I can’t go back to the Ministry, I’m already in trouble with my father and…” 

Penelope tenses at the mention of her father, and Josie finds herself getting angered at the mention of him. She doesn’t like the idea of Penelope’s father, much less the idea of Penelope going back home or to the Ministry to visit him, even if it’s for something important to Penelope. 

Josie’s jaw clenches at the thought of him. He’s been one of the most well-respected Ministers in the world, but knowing the way he treats Penelope is more than enough for her to dislike him- possibly even hate him. 

And she just spent most of the night staring at his chocolate frog card, thinking of all the ways she can kill him and get away with it. 

Josie stares at Penelope in the low light, evidence of her fight with Hope still lingering. Her eyes land on the bruising on Penelope’s cheek. It looks much better than the last time Josie has seen her. Josie wonders why Penelope hasn’t stopped by the infirmary for some paste, knowing that she could have had the bruises healed within an hour. She just hopes that Penelope was telling the truth for there being no dark magic involved, because they’ll both be expelled for it, without hesitation. Even if she is Caroline’s mother.

“Jo…?” 

“Wha- yes?” Josie mumbles, embarrassed that she’s been caught staring. It hasn’t been the first time Penelope’s caught her, but after them deciding to be…  _ friends,  _ Josie shouldn’t be staring in the first place. 

“Can you help, or should I-”

“Yes!” Josie answers, sounding overly enthusiastic as she does. “I’ll help. What is it?” 

“I… I need to break into your mother’s office.” 

Josie gawks at her.

Breaking inot her mother’s office is nearly as bad as dark magic, and Penelope just expects Josie to help her waltz into the place? What could Penelope possibly need so badly that her mom has?

Out of all things, she certainly was not expecting Penelope Park to pull her into a closet and say that she needs Josie to break her into the Headmistress’ office. Who also so happens to be her  _ mother _ , of all people. Josie has to admit, it’s a terrible idea all around, but it would be more enjoyable if it wasn’t her mother’s belongings Penelope is trying to break into. 

“Absolutely not.” 

Penelope stares back, even dares to bat her eyelashes at her like Josie’s some horny teenage boy, and Josie sighs. What could Penelope possibly need so much that she needs to break into her mother’s office? Whatever it is, Penelope must be desprate. Desprate enough to ask Josie for help, out of all things. 

Penelope sighs when Josie doesn’t budge. 

“I just need to be in her office for five minutes, ten minutes max.” 

Josie crosses her arms stubbornly.

“I need to use her pensieve.” Penelope elaborates, pulling something out of her pocket. 

Josie gasps when she realizes what it is, “You stole somebody’s memory?!” 

“What?  _ No!  _ I didn’t… I didn’t steal it from his brain, I just… I found it in his office, okay?” Penelope explains, becoming guarded again. Josie stares at the vial in Penelope’s hand, and starts to weigh her options. She could tell Penelope that she won’t help her, and leave her to either do it herself or find help from somebody else. Her second option would be that she can take the vial from Penelope and smash it, leaving Penelope with nothing. Josie groans to herself mentally as she thinks about her last option, which is helping Penelope herself.

Easier said than done. Who knows if they’ll even be able to pull it off together? 

Penelope holds on to the vial as if it’s a lifeline, and maybe to her it  _ is.  _

“Fine,” Josie huffs, not happy with her own decision. “I’ll help you.” 

Penelope smiles, although it doesn’t quite meet her eyes, “Thank you, Josie.” 

“Yeah,” Josie waves it off. “It’s not a big deal.” 

They both know it’s a big deal, but Penelope doesn’t point that out. Instead she pockets the vial she had pulled out before. Both of them hesitate to leave for a few moments, their conversation seemingly over. When Josie finally goes to leave, Penelope does as well, causing both of them to collide into each other. The force somehow knocks Penelope off balance, and Josie quickly reaches for her wrist to steady her. 

Their faces are inches apart, and Josie can’t help but let her eyes flutter shut. Only a few days have passed since Josie was last near Penelope like this, and it nearly pains Josie to be this close to her and  _ not _ do anything. Her fingers ghost along Penelope’s wrist, and Penelope reacts almost out of instinct, it seems, twisting her hand so her fingers meet Josie’s. 

She wants to apologize again. Desperately, but every time she’s attempted to apologize to her, Penelope has just brushed her off, or avoided her completely. She knows that Penelope has told her to stop apologizing, but Josie can’t help but want to. Josie doubts that Penelope wants to hear another one, and Josie has one on the tip of her tongue. 

Penelope’s free hand grasps the front of Josie’s shirt, pulling her closer, and Josie stumbles into her, pressing closer. 

Everything in Josie’s mind is telling her that she shouldn’t, shouldn’t be so close to Penelope, shouldn’t let one of her hands fall to Penelope’s hip and press them together, but she pushes the thoughts down. Josie knows it’s selfish of her, after everything she had said and done to Penelope. Penelope doesn’t seem to mind their sudden closeness, even seems to crave it just as much and Josie does when her hand grips at Josie’s shirt even tighter. Josie shivers when Penelope lets go of her shirt, sneaking under the hem, fingers brushing against her bare skin. Josie hadn’t expected the contact after everything.

Josie realizes something terrifying in that moment, when Penelope’s hand leaves her stomach and presses against her cheek. 

It’s a huge revelation, but at least not one that makes Josie want to run away. It’s terrifying in an odd way because Josie’s never had the feeling before, but with Penelope’s presence, Josie feels a bit of peace with it. 

She doesn’t want a life without Penelope Park in it. 

The revelation makes her realize she certainly doesn’t want to keep playing this game with her, when they pretend like whatever keeps happening between them is nothing, and the two of them constantly doing or saying things they don’t mean just to drive a wedge between them. Josie has made a few mistakes- stupid ones, and she think that Penleope would forgive her if she’s made another one.

And… and, they’re supposed to be  _ friends.  _ Friends certainly don’t do…  _ this.  _ How could they possibly be friends when it already seems like they’re going down the same road? The more time Josie spends at Hogwarts this year, the more she realizes that things aren’t as perfect as they seem. Between the triwizard tournament and what’s happening behind closed doors at the ministry. 

Penelope notices Josie's hesitation, starts to take a step back, but Josie roots her into place. 

“Penelope…” Josie breathes out. She’s not sure what she’s about to say, but she knows that she  _ needs  _ to, before it’s too late.

Penelope hums in response, pressing closer, and Josie knows that all she has to do is lean down, to capture Penelope’s lips with her own, to satisfy the feeling that has started to grow in her chest. 

Josie wants to kiss Penelope again. Desperately. She doesn’t even care if it leads to anything more. She just wants to kiss Penelope and come up with an excuse to spend the rest of the day with her. 

The door opens with a loud creak, pouring a beam of bright light onto Josie’s eyes, causing the two of them to freeze. Josie refuses to let go of Penelope, preparing herself for their intruder to be a professor that will just end up giving them detention. Josie’s cheeks begin to go red when she realizes that the professor would probably relay to her mother about the compromising situation.

Once Josie blinks a few times and her eyes settle with the new light, Penelope’s pushing out of her grip and tenses up next to her. 

“Lizzie? Hope?” Josie asks dumbly, “What are you doing here?” 

It’s very clear what they intended on doing in the closet, if their mussed hair and shambled clothes were anything to go by. 

Lizzie’s glaring daggers at Penelope with her arms crossed, and Hope’s looking at a crack in the ground that seems to be very intriguing to her. She mumbles something under her breath that only Lizzie can hear. 

“You’re still infiltrating with the enemy?” Lizzie accuses. 

“We were just talking.” Josie explains. 

“In the closet?” 

“Yes.” 

Lizzie scoffs, “Please, who knows what disgusting things you two were doing in here. Who the hell talks in the closet?” 

“We do when we want to avoid knuckleheads like you two,” Penelope comments. “Go find your own closet.” 

Josie and Hope let out identical sighs as Lizzie snarks something back, only launching her and Penelope into an obnoxious round of bickering- it’s hard to believe the two of them were supposed to be friends two weeks ago. 

Josie groans, grabbing a hold of Penelope’s arm, pulling her way from Lizzie and Hope. Josie says goodbye to them, but Lizzie only looks more annoyed- something that Josie’s going to have to deal with later. 

“I need to go,” Penelope says when they’re a safe distance away from the pair, and Josie bites her lip to stop herself from frowning. “I’ll find you later?” 

“I- yeah...” Josie answers, hoping that she doesn’t seem too upset at the idea of them parting ways. “I’ll let you know about the, uh, plan?”

“Thanks,” Penelope replies, a sudden sense of urgency as she prepares to leave, “I’ll see you later.”

Josie watches her leave, almost mirroring when they had argued in the hall after the first task, instead Josie doesn’t feel upset or angered as Penelope leaves. Instead, she feels a bit hopeful, because maybe she has the smallest chance at mending things between them for good.

Eventually, with the hall completely empty, Josie makes her way to the library, not wanting to face Lizzie again, or her mother anytime soon. 

“Do you have a plan this time around?” Jade asks when Josie has been studying in the library for at least three hours, startling Josie. Josie wasn’t aware that Jade had woken up from her Gargoyle-induced coma, and that she was free to roam around again.

“You’re awake! How long ago did you wake up?”

Jade shrugs, “A few days. Pomfrey just let me go a few hours ago. My headmaster was pissed about the first task. I heard you won.”

“Yeah.” Josie answers glumly. Everyone knows that it only matters if she wins the last task, so she has no idea why everyone is obsessed with the outcome of the first task. There’s not much benefit to the points she received from winning, expect giving her a few minutes headstart in the last task. Josie’s not very interested in it.

Jade sits down across from her, “Have you heard?” 

“What?” 

“You seriously haven’t heard?” 

Josie shrugs. If Jade’s talking about anything related to the tournament, her mother hasn’t relayed the message to her yet. 

Jade looks around, then leans forward and whispers, “Hogwarts is supposed to host the Yule Ball this year.” 

Josie groans. No. There’s no way Hogwarts is holding the Yule Ball, too. The Yule Ball along with the tournament, and just Hogwarts in general, is a recipe for disaster. 

“There’s barely any time for the Yule Ball!” Josie exclaims. 

The Durmstrang student rolls her eyes, “It’s on Christmas Day, Josie.” 

“Exactly! Lizzie and I go home during winter break, so do hundreds of students. They can’t just host the Yule Ball and expect us to show up! And what about the first task? They’re just trying to distract us, or make us more stressed out. Watch something go terribly wrong at the Yule Ball.” 

“Woah, slow down there, tiger. For somebody who just won a  _ Triwizard  _ task, you seem scared of a stupid ball.” 

“Because that’s exactly what it is! Stupid, and a complete waste of time. Nobody is going to want to go, and it’ll be a bust.”

Jade seems surprised by the confidence in Josie’s last few words, and hesitates slightly before she speaks. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, uh… it won’t be a bust.”

“What makes you say that?” Josie grumbles as she decides to go back to her notes, trying to focus on writing them, rather than the hundreds of thoughts that are now distracting her.

“Because as champions, we’re required to go to the ball. And to bring a date.”

Josie nearly snaps her quill when she accidentally pressed down too hard when the words register in her ears. 

She  _ has  _ to attend the Yule Ball. She  _ has  _ to have a date. Who suddenly decided that they needed to host the Yule Ball, and force Triwizard Champions to take a date. There’s a million other things she could do. 

Plus, who the hell is going to be her date? MG? Rafael?  _ Jed?  _ Josie cringes at the idea. She doesn’t want to spend the night with a boy following her around acting like her date to some stupid, grand, and pertigious ball. 

Josie needs to talk to her mother. Tell her to cancel the ball. It’ll be a waste of time to set up, and more importantly, a waste of time for her _.  _ She shouldn’t have to worry about it, not with everything else that has been happening. Who’s great idea was it?

She starts piling her stuff together, not wanting to trust Jade with this vital information. Not that Jade hasn’t told the truth before, but it must be a rumor, right? Maybe Alyssa had told Jade when they bumped into each other, just to mess with the Durmstrang. Josie prays that it’s just some lie somebody has fabricated, because who knows what will happen within the month and a half leading up to the ball?

In her hurry, she fails to register the words that Jade is speaking, ready to barge into her mother’s office and demand answers from her. 

“Hey,” Jade says calmly, her hand on Josie’s wrist. “Did you look into the bag?” 

“What?” 

“For the second task? Did you look in your bag?” 

“Shit.” Josie curses, shoving her last bit of parchment into her last open book haphazardly, and Jade looks amused as she watches Josie spiral into panic. 

“You haven’t even opened it, have you?” 

“No,” Josie admits defeatedly. She’s been working with Alyssa,  _ training  _ for the task like a normal contender, but she’s constantly forgotten about the bag she’s retrieved from the first task. Not to mention, she’s supposed to be staging a break in into her mother’s office. “Can’t you just tell me?”

“That defeats the purpose.” Jade comments with an amused smile.

Josie sighs. She doesn’t have time to worry about what Jade is telling her. She’s been doing her best to stay on top of her school work, but recent events with Penelope have made it harder than Josie wants to admit. Now she has to worry about the fucking Yule Ball. 

And Penelope.

Penelope. 

Who wants Josie to help her break into the Headmistress’ office and use her pensieve for whatever stubborn reason Penelope wants. Josie had promised to help her, but she’s already dreading it. Something could go wrong while using the pensieve, they could get caught, and on top of that, it would be even more time with just the two of them. 

Josie doesn’t know if she can handle that. Without saying something wrong, or having the whole thing blow up in their faces. Or maybe Penelope will spend more time with Josie and decide that she hates her. 

With a sigh, Josie sits back down. She would talk to Lizzie, but she doubts that Lizzie wants to hear about her Penelope problems. 

The next three days consist of Josie missing classes, her avoiding her friends, and her working with Jade and Alyssa. She still hasn’t opened her back from the first task, not sure if she’s ready to open it just yet.

Alyssa typically leaves their get-togethers early, leaving Josie alone with Jade.

She doesn’t mind, not completely. It’s nice to be able to talk to somebody who doesn’t have a sarcastic or witty response to everything. 

As much as Josie appreciates the fact that she had somebody like Jade to help her with all of her recent dilemmas, she only shares so much with the Drumstrang. She still can’t tell what Jade’s true motives are, so whenever they take a break from preparing for the next task and she asks Josie more personal questions, Josie always finds a way to ignore them.

Jade is usually quiet, observing Josie with careful eyes whenever they talk about things that aren’t about the Triwizard Tournament. Josie normally doesn’t care what Jade thinks of her, but over the past few days it’s been a bit unsettling. 

For once, they’re not talking about the tournament, but they’re supposed to be studying. Josie’s been staring at the same two pages for a good thirty minutes, completely unmotivated to get anything done. Jade was working diligently, until she pushed her work away with a tired sigh. 

Then started to stare at Josie. 

Josie can’t tell if Jade’s aware she’s been staring for the past five minute, or if Jade’s just tired and it’s really comprehending anything she’s doing. Josie hopes it’s the second option, otherwise, it would be completely awkward when Josie asks  _ why.  _

She clears her throat, and Jade sighs awkwardly. 

“Sorry.” Jade murmurs. 

“It’s fine.” Josie replies, finally turning her page. 

She doesn’t get anything done, because the next time she looks up at Jade, the Durmstrang is leaning forward and pressing their lips together. 

Josie makes a surprised noise in the back of their throat, her hands falling to Jade’s shoulders. The moment is short-lived, Jade pulling back before Josie can really comprehend what just happened. 

Jade doesn’t offer an explanation or an apology, but it leaves Josie biting her lip and turning back to her work quickly. Josie hasn’t thought about kissing anybody. Anybody  _ new,  _ not since Penelope. And while the kiss Jade had just initiated wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t good either, and only makes Josie feel more conflicted. 

They’ve been friendly with each other for months, and Josie vaguely remembers Jade telling her that her and her girlfriend had broken up before the first task, but at the end of the day, they’re contenders. Against each other. 

“I have to go.” Josie lies. 

Jade only nods wordlessly, and hands Josie one of her textbooks. 

“I’ll see you around?” Josie asks. They’ll be seeing each other at the Yule Ball, but before then? Josie would rather keep herself out of any situations that would be awkward with Jade. 

* * *

Her and Penelope go to her mother’s office three day after Jade kisses Josie, which only adds to Josie’s lists of dilemmas.

Does she tell Penelope? What does she tell Jade? If she tells Penelope,  _ when?  _ It would have to be soon, but preferably not when they’re breaking into her mother’s office. Should she even tell Penelope, or would it just ruin their chance at becoming friends, even though it shouldn’t? 

The two of them are standing expectantly in the hall, outside the staircase that leads to her mother’s office, waiting for the stairs to start spinning and reveal themselves. 

“I thought you knew the password?” Penelope whispers urgently. 

“I do! Well, I  _ did,  _ she might have changed it!” 

Penelope glances around them in a way that’s obviously,  _ we’re up to no good,  _ and Josie rolls her eyes. Could she be anymore obvious? 

“What happens if you get the password wrong?”

“Nothing? I think?” Josie hates the suggestion, but she finds herself quickly adding, “Can’t you just apparate us?” 

“Wow, Jo, I totally didn’t think of that.” 

A blink of silence. 

Penelope kicks at a pebble, “Everytime I tried, I just ended up right here. Your mom has a protective spell around her office.” She grumbles, defeatedly. 

Well, that makes more sense, and why Penelope had turned to Josie for help. 

Josie tries a few more passwords, her and Penelope preparing for things to go terribly wrong just in case Josie makes too many wrong guesses. It takes seven minutes for Josie to mumble the correct password, the ground shaking a bit as the staircase wheels into sight. 

Josie gives Penelope an exaggerated smile, stepping to the side, “Ladies first.” 

She swears Penelope laughs a bit to herself as she walks past her. 

Once they reach the top of the stair, Josie lets out a sigh of relief when her mother isn’t standing in the middle of her office with her arms crossed, demanding an explanation. The office is thankfully empty, and it even looks like her mother has organized it since the last time Josie was in it. 

Josie feels immensely guilty, and Penelope tries to put her at ease. Josie’s grateful for the attempt, even if it doesn’t help much. Josie tells herself that they’re not  _ stealing  _ anything, and that makes the whole entering and breaking in thing slightly better, but it  _ doesn’t _ . Her mother trusts her, and the first chance Josie gets, she allows Penelope in just so they can use her mother’s pensieve? Josie should have asked first. Right? Maybe her mother would have said yes. 

“You okay?” Penelope whispers. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Josie promises, pointing to the corner, “She keeps her pensieve over there.” 

Josie walks over to the corner, going through the cabinet where her mother stores the pensieve in, hitting her head when she stands back up. She sets the pensieve up, ignoring the way Penelope watches her carefully. 

“Josie,” Penelope whispers, “We don’t have to do this, we can leave now if you want…” 

“It’s okay. I’ll just wait here in case she comes back early.” Josie assures. “Just be careful, please?” 

“I will.” 

Josie steps back, watching Penelope carefully. She’s dying to ask Penelope what is in the vial that she’s been carrying around. Josie hasn’t dared to ask, afraid that it would cause Penelope to shut down and create another rift between them. Peneople pours the vial into the pensieve, and it only takes a few seconds before Penelope disappears into it. 

Josie busies herself. Finds her mother’s secret stash of Bertie Botts Jelly Beans, eating a few and guessing the flavors by herself, gagging when she comes across a particularly disgusting flavor that she prays she never stumbles across again. 

She finds herself staring at the sorting hat again. She never knew she could hate the hat so much, but the more she stares at it, the more she dislikes it. She wonders what would have happened if she put it back on, if it would still sort her into Gryffindor like it did seven years, or if it would think she’s better suitable for a different house.

Josie begins to worry when Penelope’s been in the pensieve for a good twenty minutes. She’s never used one, so she has absolutely no idea how long it takes. Does it take longer based on the memory? Could Penelope somehow have gotten trapped in there? How the hell would Josie get her out of there if that was the case? 

Josie goes back into the corner, peering into the pensieve and immediately regrets her decision a mere thirty seconds later. 

Penelope comes back out of the pensieve, knocking their heads together and the impact causes Josie to fall to the floor, one arm wrapped around Penelope’s waist. 

Josie can feel Penelope’s heart racing, very faintly, only making Josie worry more. 

She has no idea why these things happen to her, but Penelope’s knee has found its place between her thighs, Penelope’s green eyes pouring into Josie’s. Josie wishes she could spend every moment drowning in them, not caring what happens in the world around them. 

Penelope looks a bit dazed, her face flustered, her breathing irregular as she stays pressed against Josie. 

Then, because the universe hates her, Penelope shifts to sit up, to push herself off Josie, she’s not sure, but Penelope presses closer to regain her balance, and Josie almost moans. Keyword: Almost, because it would be highly hypocritical of her to make that kind of noise after she agreed to be just friends. 

She bites her lip, her other hand flying to Penelope’s hip. She’s not sure if it’s to stop Penelope or hold her in place. Her cheeks and ears are suddenly burning with embarrassment, even as the sound dies in her throat, but Penelope knows her well enough to know exactly what just happened. 

Penelope freezes for a split second, mumbling a very quiet and awkward, “ _ Sorry.”  _ To Josie that it only makes Josie feel guilty, and even more so when Penelope very carefully places her hands on Josie’s shoulders and pushes herself off of her.

Josie scrambles to her feet, making sure to place a good amount of space between them. Six feet or so is good enough, right? 

She wants to apologize, and to ask Penelope if she found the information that she needed, and Josie becomes a blubbering mess trying to tell Penelope that she’s sorry and to ask questions all at the same time. 

Penelope’s crossing the office, ignoring Josie’s attempts of starting a conversation, and she plucks the sorting hat off the shelf it rests on, and throws it into Josie’s arms. 

“Put it on.” Penelope commands.

“What?  _ No!”  _ Josie argues, despite the way Penelope’s looking at her, as if Josie  _ does  _ put it on, it’ll reveal some secret that will make everything clear.

Penelope’s in front of her in a few hurried quick steps, “Just put it on!” 

“What the hell? Why does it matter so much?” 

“Just do it!” 

“Fine!” 

Josie rolls her eyes, and huffs dramatically to make sure that Penelope knows she’s doing it because Penelope has asked, and not because she wants to, despite the inner turmoil she feels every time she sees the hat. She dusts the hat off quickly, and she has to take a deep breath to prepare herself. 

The hat barely touches her head before announcing, “Slytherin!” 

Josie nearly chokes on air at that, shoving the hat back into Penelope’s hands. 

“Tell me why you wanted me-”

“Told you that you’re Slytherin.” Penelope sounds strangely proud, and it makes warmth spread through Josie’s chest, and she can’t help but smile a bit. 

They’re staring at each other, Penelope still looking at her all proudly, and Josie smiling. A few happy moments pass, and then they both register it. A low, deep rumble and a faint vibration under their feet. 

Josie can see the slight panic start to settle onto Penelope’s face. 

_ Shit. _

Her mother’s back. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I’ve been busy traveling for a while (with a mask of course) but wanted to give you all a quickish update. I’m updating this chapter from my phone (rip) so hopefully the formatting will be okay? If not I’ll change it when I get back to my laptop. 
> 
> Also I’ve been listening to Taylor’s new album and got inspired to write another Posie story 👀👀 I’ll post it as soon as I’m done with it
> 
> Please enjoy!

Josie’s first instinct is to push Penelope behind her, and surprisingly, Penelope doesn’t grumble at the action. She accepts the movement, even holding onto Josie’s hand, as if that would stop her mother from scolding them when they’re inevitably found. 

Penelope whispers something, or even speaks normally into Josie’s right ear, but Josie groans in annoyance, “Penelope, I can’t hear in that ear anymore.” She reminds, feeling stupid that she’s forgotten about her new injury herself. She’s only been visiting Pomfrey twice a week to see if her hearing has decided to come back, but with no luck. 

“It still hasn’t come back?” Penelope questions, and if Josie didn’t know any better, Penelope’s upset that Josie hasn’t kept her updated on something as small as Josie’s hearing status. “I thought Pomfrey said it had more damage, so it’d take a bit longer.” 

“Things change,” Josie tells her with a shrug. “Pomfrey thinks it won’t come back at all.” 

“Are you serious?” Penelope exclaims, her voice rising- Josie can’t tell if it’s out of anger or surprise. 

“Why would I lie about it?!” Josie grumbles, smacking Penelope’s hand away when Penelope goes to snap near it, to test the theory out.

“I never said you were lying about it!” Penelope argues, attempting to smack back at Josie’s hand. “Why didn’t you tell me? That’s a big thing.” 

“It’s just my hearing!” 

“Your hearing is vital!” 

Josie rolls her eyes, and when she turns to face the girl, she quickly realizes that it’s a mistake. Penelope’s looking at her with a frown, her face all scrunched up in concern and annoyance. Josie shouldn’t find the sight adorable, because whenever Penelope doesn’t get her way, she becomes ruthless. Perhaps Josie has just annoyed Penelope enough times to know that Penelope would never actually take it out on her. And when she  _ has _ … Well, they both know where that leads them. 

“It’s better than both ears.” Josie tells her, and the frown disappears as Penelope realizes that she’s right. 

“Yeah, well…” Josie doesn’t think she’s ever seen Penelope at a loss for words like this, “It’s important, okay? I could’ve helped or something.”

“Or something.”

“Yeah, or something.” Penelope grumbles, “You know, muggles have figured out a way to fix-”

“Shush,” Josie tells her, covering her mouth. She had suddenly remembered what had caused them to panic in the first place. Her mother is back. Josie can’t hear any tell-tale signs that might tell them anything. The ground isn’t rumbling faintly anymore, so Josie assumes her mother is already making her way up the stairs. 

She could just shove Penelope off into the corner somewhere and distract her mother from her, or she could just wait for her mother to find them, and act like nothing is out of the ordinary. There’s been a few times when her and Lizzie have invited themselves into the office and their mother has come back, but that was before Josie had brought Penelope along. 

Josie begins to panic, throwing the sorting hat back into the shelf, and starts pulling Penelope up the old, rickety, metal stairs that lead to the second floor of the office. Josie has rarely gone to the second floor, and Penelope seems to be a bit taken aback from the view that it offers. 

“Just… Stay here, okay? I’ll talk to my mom and come back for you later if she kicks me out.” 

“What if she doesn’t leave? Or she comes up here? What am I gonna do then, re-introduce myself?” 

Fuck. 

Clearly, Josie did not think her plan through. Her mother may be coming with a few other Professors and will kick Josie out. Maybe her mother won’t leave for a few hours, leaving Penelope locked up here with her all alone. Josie doesn’t want to be the reason why Penelope ends up getting expelled. She doesn’t even know why she decided she’ll come up with an escape plan when Penelope’s clearly thought this through. 

There’s a clatter of things- Penelope reacts to the sound faster than Josie does, and Josie pulls Penelope away from the railing that gives them the perfect view of the desk. Does her mother’s office really have to be so big? With no good hiding spots? She could shove Penelope in one of the cupboards, she's sure that Penelope’s small enough, but Penelope gives her a pointed look before Josie can even tell her to get into one.

Thankfully, Caroline hasn’t wandered far into the office yet. Josie would rather keep it that way, but when she faintly hears her mother call out, she freezes and curses under her breath. Clearly, Josie would much rather make her presence known, or if her mother were to find her, it would be after Josie’s managed to hide Penelope somewhere. 

This is clearly not one of Josie’s best moments. Hiding out in her mother’s office with Penelope Park. She has no idea how she got here- okay, yes she  _ does,  _ but she doesn’t want to admit that she’s willing to do anything for Penelope. The idea makes it all feel too real. 

Josie can hear her mother mumbling to herself, opening and slamming cupboards shut, and when Josie inches closer to the railing, she can see her mother looking for something in her desk. Her mother looks like she’s in a hurry, and Josie can only pray that she’ll leave just as quickly as she came. She feels weird spying on her own mom, but sometimes stupid decisions lead to stupid events? 

The next few moments, Josie can feel her heart pounding rapidly in her chest as she waits for her mother to leave, or even worse, make her way to the second floor and find them. Just when her mother looks like she’s about to leave again, she pauses and looks over at the corner of where the pensieve is. 

Shit. Shit. 

Josie had forgotten to put it away. She watches as her mother looks at in confusion, but then mumbles something to herself as she crosses the office and inspects the pensieve before putting it away, shaking her head as she does so. Josie feels sorry for her. She can’t imagine how stressed her mother has been, and now Josie’s lurking in her office and making her think she’s lost her marbles. 

Her mother leaves after that, and Josie looks at Penelope, who has the decency to look guilty. 

They wait a few more minutes, just in case her mother might come back, and once they decide the coast is clear, her and Penelope leave in a hurry before any Professors can find them and figure out what they were doing. 

Josie stops when they’re nearing the Astronomy tower. She wants to ask Penelope what she had seen in the memory, but she doesn’t want to press too far or cause Penelope to get upset. She’s been trying to figure out how to approach it without causing any problems, and finally settles on asking about the sorting hat. 

“What was that thing about the sorting hat?” Josie asks. 

“It was me proving that I’m right, you’re a Slytherin.” 

“Does it really matter that much to you?” Josie grumbles. She knows how Slytherin’s always seem to take traditions further than the other houses. They’re always more competitive with the point system, more confident and proud of their house than everyone else. 

“Yes.” Penelope states simply, and Josie rolls her eyes. 

“Of course it does.” She mumbles to herself. 

“Does it not bother you? That you’re not like the rest of your housemates?” Penelope asks Josie. “Are you seriously telling me you’re happy being sorted into Gryffindor?” 

Honestly, Josie’s never thought about it, if she’d be happier sorted into a different house. She’s found most of her friends from her house, and she loves them, she really does, but… The way they approach life, or the way they talk about magic has always been different than the way Josie perceives it. Besides, who  _ cares  _ if she’s happy with the house she’s sorted into? It was seven years ago, of course they grew up and things changed. 

“No.” Josie mumbles quietly, feeling a bit strange at the sudden realization. 

“You only told the sorting hat to sort you into Gryffindor so you could take care of Lizzie, didn’t you?”

Josie doesn’t remember what she was thinking this morning, much less what she was thinking about seven years ago. She was twelve years old and excited to be going to Hogwarts, about being able to learn more about magic and being sorted into her own house. She was excited about  _ everything _ , and she likes to think that it doesn’t matter what house she would have been sorted into. She still would have ended up here, right? Besides. Her and Lizzie are sisters. Lizzie would have done the same thing for Josie. 

“It’s just a sorting, Penelope.” 

“One that you changed. It’s not a bad thing that you’re Slytherin.”

Josie sighs. She doesn’t want to get into this right now, or talk about Lizzie. 

“It doesn’t matter, we’re almost done here anyways.” 

Penelope drops Josie’s gaze after that, realizing that Josie’s not going to budge, that they’re not going to get anywhere with this conversation. They start walking again, and Josie practically slaps herself when she remembers that she’s also supposed to be meeting with Jade. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I have to go, I need to meet Jade.” 

“So you can suck face with her?” 

“ _ What?!” _ Josie chokes on the air in her throat, perplexed by the forwardness of Penelope’s question. She had expected some comment about Jade, but certainly not  _ that _ . She hasn’t mentioned what happened between her and Jade last week to Penelope at  _ all.  _ She’s been actively avoiding that conversation, trying to scrub the memory from her own mind. Maybe Penelope’s just jealous? Doesn’t trust Jade? There’s no way that Penelope actually knows what happened, right?

Josie clears her throat, getting over her initial shock. “Why would you even think that?” She questions softly, hoping it can soothe their conversation. Surely, if Penelope knew about recent events with Jade, she would have mentioned it when they were in her mother’s office, right? Or before, or… Not at all. 

“Alyssa Chang told me.”

“Since when do you talk to Alyssa?” 

“Since she asked me if I knew you were cheating on me!” Josie flinches at the words, flinches at the anger and pain behind them. “And in the middle of the dining hall, everyone there heard it!” 

“I was going to tell you about it but I didn’t know how! I didn’t even know Alyssa saw that!” 

“You could start with,  _ Hey, Penelope, I already have a new girlfriend! She’s the girl I’m supposed to be competing against in dangerous tasks!”  _ Penelope mimics Josie in a way that makes her cringe. “Sounds easy, right?!” 

“It’s not easy, okay? It’s complicated and frustrating and… and Jade and I aren’t even together! She kissed me and I don’t even like her,” Josie insists, feeling uncomfortable with the possibility of her and Jade even dating, “This is why I didn’t tell you.” She grumbles. 

“Whatever,” Penelope huffs, clearly deciding she’s done with the conversation, “It’s none of my business.” 

“Why does it even bother you so much, you’re the one who wanted to be  _ friends _ .” Josie argues, and the reminder that they’re supposed to be friendly seems to hit her harder than it hits Penelope, who only presses her lips together and shrugs. 

“I just thought you’d tell me.” 

Josie bites her lip. She  _ should _ have told Penelope, but they both know it’s not because they’re friends. Why did Josie have to make things so complicated between them? She’s the one who broke something that was good, and now everything she does reminds her of exactly what she destroyed. 

It’s hard to believe that her and Penelope could actually get through the day without arguing over the smallest details a little over a month ago, and now Josie feels like they’re both walking on eggshells around each other. 

“I was going to,” Josie tells her, “I didn’t think when I was sneaking you into my mother’s office was a good time.” 

Penelope doesn’t answer, and Josie has a feeling that she won’t be able to say anything that will change what Penelope knows, or  _ feels _ for that matter. 

“We’re just preparing for the second task together.” Josie whispers, as if that’s going to make everything better. 

It’s not. Josie knows that, but it’s all the comfort Josie can offer Penelope right now. 

Penelope sighs, and Josie begins to prepare herself for the worst, but instead, Penelope’s asking her a question, “Have you ever heard of Malachai Parker?” 

The name sounds familiar. Josie wouldn’t be surprised that she’s read about him somewhere in the Daily Prophet a few years back. Josie studies Penelope, not sure what Penelope wants to hear about him, and when Josie really wracks her brain, she wants to reach out and comfort Penelope. 

“Yes,” Josie answers. “He’s in Azkaban. For…” 

“Killing my mom. He was in the memory and… It was weird. There’s something else up with him.” 

“Are you okay?” Josie asks. 

“What? I’m fine,” Penelope insists, and they both know that’s far from the truth. Even just from witnessing the memory, Penelope seems tired and her shoulders slump forward in defeat. “It just doesn’t make sense.” 

“I can ask my mom about him.” Josie offers, knowing that every headmaster or headmistress needs to stay in touch with the minister of magic. Josie doesn’t expect her mother to know every little detail, but there’s no way she knows  _ nothing _ , right?

“Josie!” 

Josie groans when she hears Jade calling her, could her timing have been any worse? She’s never been around Jade and Penelope at the same time, or in the center of both of their attention, but Penelope gives her a challenging look.  _ Shit _ . 

“Penelope, hey,” Jade says as she catches up to the two of them, sounding winded. She gives Penelope an awkward smile, then zeroes in on Josie. “Do you have your bag from the first task? Alyssa’s been annoying me about it all day.” 

Josie looks over at Penelope nervously, but Penelope stays rooted in her spot. She doubts that Penelope will be leaving the two of them any time soon, or she’s just trying to annoy Josie. 

“I have it,” Josie finally answers, “But…” she doesn’t know what to say. She wants to keep talking to Penelope, but it seems that they won’t be able to finish any conversation with her today. 

Jade and Penelope stare at each other. When did that happen? Josie bites her lip as she watches the two of them interact. Eventually, Penelope sighs tiredly. “I’ll see you around, Jo.” She mutters, and Jade looks victorious.

“Really?” Josie asks as Penelope walks away.

“What?” 

“Did you have to make her leave?” 

Jade looks offended at the accusations, “She left herself.” 

“Whatever.” Josie huffs, and Jade doesn’t have much to say after that as they meet up with Alyssa. They meet in the library, and they all have the bag they received from the first task. Josie quickly realizes that all of their items are from Centaurs, leading them to believe that the second task will be in the forbidden forest. 

Alyssa, as always, leaves them after an hour or so, which only annoys Josie. She doesn’t want to be left alone with Jade, especially not after she had kissed her unexpectedly and with Jade and Penelope’s feud growing. Who knows what other things Alyssa will be telling Penelope? 

Josie had it coming, if she was being honest with herself. She knew deep down that she should have told Penelope before anybody else had the opportunity to. She’d be just as pissed off and as hurt if somebody she didn’t know well had told her Penelope kissed somebody else. 

“Josie?”

“What?” 

“Do you have a date to the ball?”

Josie has to refrain from rolling her eyes. She’s been doing her best to ignore the Yule Ball as if it’s a virus. She hasn’t even listened to any more information given out about it, and her mother had shared some a few days ago. The whole thing has been annoying Josie more than it should. 

Jade doesn’t even seem nervous with asking her. Instead, she seems overly confident and looks at Josie as if she knows that Josie’s going to say  _ no, I don’t _ .

“No.”

“Would you like to go with me?” Jade asks, as if it’s the most simple thing in the world. 

Josie nearly snaps her wand in half. 

She doesn’t want to go to the ball with Jade. Nothing in the world would possess her to do so. She’d rather go with Alyssa Chang than Jade, or even Sebastian, and he’s awful. 

But then again, Josie sort of  _ needs  _ a date to the ball, since she’s been forced to go. Who knows what’ll happen if two champions go together? Josie finds that she doesn’t care much, other than the imagination of the reaction Jade’s headmaster would have entertaining her. She shouldn’t turn Jade down, because what if she can’t find a date? 

“I’ll think about it.” Josie answers, missing the way that Jade smiles genuinely at her, despite that Josie hasn’t given her a straight answer. 

They fall into their normal routine after that, which consists of Josie ignoring Jade for the majority of their shared time together. When Josie finds the perfect opportunity to ditch the durmstrang student, she does. 

She makes her way back to her mother’s office, praying that her mother is inside this time. Hopefully, there’s no professors with her. 

Josie finds her mother in her office, polishing the very pensieve Penelope had used hours ago. Thankfully, Josie is able to swallow her guilt and ask her mother the question she’s been planning on asking. 

“The second task is taking place in the forbidden forest, right?” 

Caroline nearly drops the pensieve at Josie’s question, and Josie waits patiently as she puts it away. “Yes,” her mother admits, “But you know I’m not allowed to say anything else, Josie.” 

Josie shrugs. She didn’t have any other questions regarding the second task. She had just wanted to make sure she got the location right. Everyone knows that the forbidden forest is unpredictable and can be terrifying at night, so Josie has come to the conclusion that her and her competition will have to survive a night in the forest. It sounds like something that would be easy for them to set up, that way they can focus on the third task and make sure it isn’t a let down for the audience. 

“Mom?” Josie attempts to get her mother’s attention again as she sits down in her chair, beginning to look through a stack of papers left on her desk. 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you think kids get sorted into the wrong house?” 

“It can happen,” Her mother answers, not looking up from her papers. “Some kids don’t want to get separated from their siblings, or they spend a while talking to the hat because they’re afraid of getting sorted into a different house. Why?”

Josie shrugs. 

“Josie.” 

“I was just talking to Penelope about it earlier today,” Josie caves, not able to ignore the look her mother gives her, sitting the chair across from her. “She was insisting that I’m wrongly sorted into Gryffindor and that I’m a Slytherin.”

Something flickers across her mother’s eyes. Josie can’t tell if it’s agreement or humor. 

“What did you tell her?” 

“That it doesn’t matter.” 

“Right. Who cares if people think you’re a Slytherin?” 

Josie doesn’t know how to explain it without sounding like a hypocrite. She gets a weird feeling in her chest every time somebody mentions that she seems more like a Slytherin than a Gryffindor, and Josie knows why. 

“I don’t want to be a Slytherin.” She whispers. Not ever since she found those articles on Malachai Parker. She had come across one that included his picture, and it chilled Josie to the bone. Not that it was particularly scary or anything, but rather because once she found it, she couldn’t help but feel like she’s supposed to know him. 

‘Why?” 

“I know about Malachai Parker,” Josie finds the words tumbling out of her, “How he killed Penelope’s mom and how he wanted to make Slytherins-”

“You don’t need to worry about him,” Caroline cuts her off, “He was a bad person, yes, but that doesn’t mean all Slytherin’s are, Josie.”

“Voldemort was-”

“Josie. The world… It’s not a kind place, and you know that. Two people who did terrible things shouldn’t define one house. I can promise you that not all Gryffindors are heroes like they think they are, just like there are some hufflepuffs that are more courageous than we give them credit for. Even if you were sorted into Slytherin, it doesn’t make you selfish or evil, Josie.”

She lets the words settle, thinking them over, but her thoughts go back to Malachai Parker. He’s rotting away in a cell in Azkaban, yet Josie can’t help but feel like she needs to go check herself. She didn’t miss the way her mother had tried to keep a straight face when she mentioned him. Caroline’s facade had only split for a second, but it was enough to tell Josie that there’s much more to Malachai Parker than she knows. 

“Okay.” 

Caroline gives her one of those comforting smiles, the one she gives her or Lizzie when she knows that they’re still spiraling a bit mentally, or when she knows that they’re going to inevitably ignore her advice, despite the fact they had asked for it. 

“When was the last time you slept?” She asks Josie suddenly, and Josie avoids her gaze. She had successfully taken a nap after yesterday’s events with Penelope, but it had done nothing to make her feel refreshed. 

“Last night.” Josie lies, but her mother is rolling her eyes as she begins to gather all the things she needs to make her a cup of tea. 

“You always had trouble falling asleep, even when you were a baby,” Caroline tells her fondly. “Lizzie would go down for a nap without a problem, but you… Even when you were exhausted, sometimes I would put you down for a nap, and you would find something else to do. It drove me and your father crazy.” 

Josie doesn’t know where the sudden wave of emotion comes from, but she finds herself blinking away a few tears. “Mom?”

Caroline looks up, and Josie’s glad she wasn’t actually crying, or her mother would be sitting next to her and trying to comfort her, and Josie always feels smaller when she does that. 

“How do you know you’re in love?” She cringes at the words.  _ In love _ . It doesn’t sound right. “I mean, or just that you love somebody. More than a friend.” 

It’s a stupid question, and makes her feel childish, but her mother only smiles, and hands her a cup of tea before making Josie move to the couch. Josie wishes that it was as easy as saying a friendly  _ I love you  _ to MG or Kaleb, or telling Lizzie. They’ve been in her life for years, and Josie has always found it easier. 

“Is this about Penelope?” Her mother questions bluntly, and Josie chokes on the tea she had decided to sip on in that moment. 

“No. Yes.” 

Caroline raises an eyebrow. 

“Yes.” Josie repeats, more confidently. Isn’t almost everything these days about Penelope? How she wants to be with Penelope, or how she wants to find the right moment to talk to her about everything. 

“I think you already know the answer.” Her mother offers ominously, and Josie rolls her eyes. She  _ does.  _ Penelope may constantly annoy the hell out of her, but she also makes Josie feel lighter and happier at the same time. Josie doesn’t think it’s fair. Penelope can affect her in so many ways, and she has no idea how Penelope feels about her? 

“Fine,” She huffs out. “How do I know if she feels the same?” 

“This may be crazy, but… You could ask her.” 

Josie doesn’t like the idea. How embarrassing would it be if Penelope told her she didn’t feel the same? Josie’s never been the best as speaking about her own feelings, to  _ anyone _ , despite her obvious soft spot for Penelope. Josie hates how she can see herself talking to Penelope about everything under the sun  _ but  _ them. 

Caroline lets Josie sit in her own headspace for a while, but before Josie knows it, she’s opening up to her mom about Penelope, how Josie had kissed her last semester and how Penelope’s patient and kind with her even when she’s frustrated with Josie, or if Josie doesn’t deserve it. It takes a huge weight off of Josie’s shoulders, just to openly talk about Penelope and how she feels about the girl without feeling like somebody’s judging her, or from the influence of love potion. She’s careful when retelling certain stories, because there’s some things about Penelope she doesn’t want to share with anybody. 

Josie falls asleep that night after her mother offers to braid her hair, and she sleeps like a baby. 

She wakes up the next morning, feeling the most refreshed she has in months, and when she sees the tray of food her mother had bought for her only adds to her good mood. After scarfing down nearly everything on the tray, she kisses her mother on the cheek as a goodbye before bolting out of there. She runs to Gryffindor Tower and changes into a clean set of clothes.

Josie’s practically skipping down the hall on the way to her divination class, happy to have the excuse to talk to Penelope when she’s stopped by Professor Tig.

“Miss Saltzman, you are aware that you are supposed to be with Professor Willams to prepare for the ball, right?” 

The skip immediately leaves Josie’s step, and she slaps herself mentally. The Yule Ball has proven time and time again to be her biggest issue right now. Why can’t she just go to class and complain about tea leaves to Penelope? 

Hesitantly, Josie allows Professor Tig to lead her to the room Professor Williams has taken over for the day. She sits in the back, doing her best to ignore the glances she receives when she walks in. She can see Hope and Lizzie sitting together in the corner, and Lizzie’s laughing quietly at something Hope has said. A bout of jealousy courses through Josie at the sight, because she knows that if weren’t so stupid, it could have been her and Penelope. 

Professor Williams looks like he would rather be anywhere else, and Josie thinks about telling him that the two of them should just book it. Everyone else seems to be excited at the idea of the Yule Ball, and it only adds Josie’s annoyance at the event. She should be in class, bothering her mother, or researching Malachai Parker. Every time Josie thinks about him, she gets this strange feeling on the back of her neck. She’s managed to ignore it so far, but she knows that she’ll eventually have to confront her mother about him again. And this time she’ll press for answers, rather than letting her mother change the topic. She was a bit naive to believe that her mother really didn’t know much about him anyways. 

“The Yule Ball is the perfect opportunity for us to, er, let our hair down so to speak.” Professor Williams says awkwardly as he scans the group of students. 

Josie does her best to zone him out without seeming completely oblivious to what he’s saying. She certainly did not expect her last year to go like this at all, and she can’t really decide if it’s a good or bad thing. So many things have piled onto her shoulders faster than she ever thought they could, and she can’t really just… unshoulder it, or unload it onto somebody else.

“Miss Saltzman?” Josie snaps out of her thoughts, and finds the majority of the class and Professor Williams staring at her. 

“Yes?”

“Are you ready?” He nods to the empty floor behind him, and she sighs. Is he really going to make her dance in front of the whole class? 

“Miss Park, join her.” He orders, and Josie whips her head around, only to find Penelope sitting behind her, an unreadable expression as the two of them get to their feet. 

He teaches them how to do the appropriate dance fairly quickly. Josie only steps on Penelope’s feet twice, and both times, Penelope manages to keep her comments to herself, scrunching her nose up in a way that makes Josie want to just lean down and kiss her. 

Of course, she doesn’t. She doubts that Penelope would enjoy it after recent events, not to mention there’s at least twenty pairs of eyes on them. After a few more moments of them having to follow Professor Williams orders, he has the rest of the class break up into pairs for them to learn amongst themselves.

“What are you doing here?”

“Witnessing the death of feminism.” 

A roll of brown eyes. She really doesn’t know why they have to be here, there must be something they can say or do to leave. Josie becomes so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she misses a step and- 

Before she can collide to the floor, Penelope catches her. Penelope doesn’t say a single word, but she’s got this annoyingly endearing smile as she looks down at Josie, and tilts her head a bit as if to ask,  _ are you really that clumsy?  _

By the time Josie manages to find her own footing, she finds Professor Williams staring at her and Penelope. Penelope glances over and sees him staring, too, but she doesn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest as they continue to go through the dance. Thankfully, the class ends soon after, and Josie’s thinking about pulling Penelope to the side and actually  _ saying  _ something to her, something she means, but Penelope is leaving just as fast as the rest of the students.

Josie nearly misses it, but she sees a small golden chain fall out of Penelope’s pocket. She nearly dives to the floor after it, wanting to make sure that nobody steps on it. She scrambles out into the hall, pushing past the last few students, hoping to catch Penelope before she disappears into smoke. 

Thankfully, when Josie looks down the hall behind her, it’s empty aside from Penelope.

“Penelope, wait!” Josie shouts at her, running after her. “You dropped this.” 

Something flickers in Penelope’s eyes when they land on the necklace in Josie’s hand. An excruciating moment of silence passed between them, but Penelope takes back the necklace carefully, inspecting the chain. Josie guesses that it means a lot to her, and she feels like she’s invading into a part of Penelope’s life that the other girl hasn’t really allowed her to see. 

“Thanks…” Penelope looks like she wants to say something else, but decides against it. 

“You can say it.” Josie presses, hoping she doesn’t seem too forward. But isn’t that what they need to do? Communicate more? 

“I was actually planning on giving it to you, after the first task,” Penelope admits, her cheeks turning red at the confession. Josie’s heart twists in a strange way at the confession, and she adds it to the list of things that she ruined that night. Penelope seems to hate the silence just as much as Josie does, “I don’t wear it. Do you want it?” 

Josie babbles stupidly, trying to find the appropriate answer. She feels like it would be wrong of her to accept the gift, but Penelope’s looking at her in this hopeful way that makes it seem like she’s hoping that Josie will accept it. Why is this so hard? Why can’t she just be normal around Penelope?

She finds herself agreeing, and Penelope does this small excited bounce before she tells Josie to turn around so she can help her put it on. The cool chain meets her skin, and Josie knows it’s just a necklace, but with the way Penelope has looked at it, she feels  _ proud  _ wearing it. Josie twirls back around to face her, and her shoes end up slipping on the ground beneath them. 

Out of instinct, Penelope reaches out for her and steadies her. Josie’s embarrassed- she’s always even clumsy, but even more so around Penelope. 

Penelope smirks. 

“Wanna get out of here?” 

Josie bites her lip, despite the fact that her mind is already made up. 

“Yes.” 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I hope ur doing well. It feels like I haven’t updated in forever, and I apologize for that, I’ve been extremely busy lately and wanted to get a quick update out there, so it’s definitely a short chapter :/ BUT on the bright side, the chapter after this one will definitely be on the longer side :)

Penelope gets whiplash from Josie. 

She kind of likes the pain, in some strange way because to her it means that she isn’t completely heartless like her father and she actually cares about people (or just about Josie in particular), but most times, she hates it. The emotional whiplash of Josie changing her mind every few seconds has started to take its toll, as much as Penelope tries to tell herself it hasn’t. It scares Penelope when Josie accepts her invitation, because she has no idea where they’ll end up. They’ll either be yelling at each other with one of them storming off, or they’ll have some intense conversation about their feelings. With them, it feels like there’s no in between. 

One second, Josie’s telling her that being with her is a mistake and a distraction, and the next, Josie accepts Penelope’s invitation to hang out. 

It’s confusing. She doesn’t know what Josie  _ wants.  _ Which only frustrates and confuses Penelope even more, because she’s used to knowing what people want from her. Some just want her for a body count. Others want to figure out how she’s somehow one of the best students in their year with doing practically nothing. Sometimes, they ask about her father and then never talk to her again.

Penelope doesn’t mind that. It’s easy to give those people what they want, and most of them are easier to understand than Josie Saltzman. She’s not a mind reader, no matter how hard she tries, she can’t understand a single thing Josie Saltzman does. 

So, when Penelope asks her to ditch class, and Josie agrees, she doesn’t know  _ what _ to do. It’s not like she can just ask Josie if she wants to go hang out in the Slytherin Common Room, or practically invite herself to the Gryffindor Room. Penelope crosses those places off the list of where they can hang out, mostly because she doesn’t want to deal with the awkwardness if they  _ do  _ end up going there.

She could take Josie down to the Great Lake again, but the temperature has dropped at least fifteen degrees since then, and they would freeze to death in the water. Penelope entertains that idea for a while. They’re witches, after all. All they have to do is perform a small, efficient spell to keep themselves warm for the time they spend at the Lake. 

Penelope doesn’t bring up the Lake. It’s too early in the day for them to be able to leave the castle, anyways. Anybody could see them leave and snitch on them, or they can run into a professor who has an off period. Besides, her mind runs to what happened  _ after  _ their little swim last time. She can’t help it.

Penelope doesn’t know what to do when she ends up walking down the hall, her hand accidentally brushing against Josie as they walk together. 

She didn’t think Josie would take up on her invite to ditch class. She didn’t get this far, which is strange for her. Penelope usually has things under control, is able to plan things out weeks in advance, or at least be prepared for her plans to fly off the rails. Penelope doubts that Josie really expected them to do anything, other than wander around the castle together until they find something that interests them. It’s what they usually do, anyways.

Everything ends up being normal. They bicker as they wander down the halls, and they both pretend like they don’t want to hold hands or kiss the other. 

It’s normal.  _ Totally _ normal.

Except for one small detail. 

They find themselves in the hufflepuff common room, sitting in a circle on the ground with Rafael, MG, Kaleb, and Landon. 

Getting high. 

Penelope tried her best to not seem overeager, but it’s been at least a month since she last got high. Josie can’t blame her for being excited, right? She ignores the look of disapproval she receives from Josie when her excitement shows. Somebody in the group had decided to leave school grounds to get weed. 

A bunch of it.  _ Tons  _ of it. Even by Penelope’s standards. A few more people that Penelope has never even seen before join them. Josie wards off a few younger students who try to join them, and they grumble amongst themselves as they leave. Josie seems satisfied that she’s managed to scare off some younger students until Penelope reminds her that they were hufflepuffs, and they’re all cowards. 

Josie flicks her at the statement, leaving a small red dot on the center of Penelope’s forehead for a good ten minutes.

It’s not the first time Josie and Penelope have gotten high together, but it’s the first time that it doesn’t result in Josie giggling at everything Penelope says something and then kissing occasionally. 

She misses it. 

She pushes the thought out of her mind, because she’s not supposed to be thinking it. It’s just that Penelope had gotten used to either smoking alone or with Josie, so it’s a bit weird for her to listen to Landon Kirby rant about muggle films while Kaleb looks like he regrets his decision to ask Landon about muggles in the first place.

Halfway through the spontaneous session, Penelope realizes that she hasn’t even had that much- and whatever she  _ did  _ get her hands on has worn off already, but she doesn’t feel like asking for more, since it’s not her stash.

Penelope and Josie spend at least an hour sitting in the circle. Everyone is chatting, and Josie’s giggling at something Rafael whispers into her ear. It takes all of Penelope’s willpower to not spill her water into his lap. Josie’s always been giggly, obviously more so when high. 

And then apparently Rafael is just  _ hilarious.  _ Since when did dirty, annoying teenage boys become so entertaining? Penelope has no idea. Okay, if she were honest,  _ some  _ of them were, but certainly not any of the boys from Hogwarts. The least Josie can do is find some attractive Durmstrang boy to flirt with. 

Wait. 

Penelope’s suddenly reminded of the whole Jade scandal. Has she hexed Jade yet? She honestly can’t remember, but then again, the last time she saw Jade, Josie was there with her, so it’s not like she could have hexed her then. 

She groans dramatically, and looks over at MG, only to find that he’s laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling with a crooked smile and a faraway look in his eyes. 

She’s glad the weed is affecting somebody. 

Penelope ends up laying down next to him, and he immediately starts playing with her hair. She eventually loosens up, and he starts humming the theme song to some muggle thing to himself. Penelope thinks it’s the one about some giant lizards on an island- she can’t remember, her mother didn’t teach her that much about the muggle world. 

Eventually, MG asks loudly, “What’s going on between you and Jo?” 

Thankfully, he doesn’t gather anybody’s attention, not even Josie’s with the mention of her name, but it doesn’t stop Penelope from smacking him. 

“Nothing, we’re friends,” Penelope tells him, then quickly changes her mind. That’s not the truth. “Sort of. It’s complicated right now.” 

He glares at her. 

“It’s always complicated with you two.”

Penelope frowns. “No, it’s not.” 

“Yes it is. Just think about it. Lizzie and Hope got their shit together before you and Josie did,” he starts laughing, at nothing in particular, “Just ask her to the Yule Ball.” He proposes the idea when he catches his breath, but only bursts into more laughter after he manages to get it out. 

“What’s so funny about that?” Penelope grumbles. 

“You? Going to a ball? You would rather spend a day with your father.” 

That’s a lie. Penelope can handle going to one ball, if it means she gets to spend time with Josie. She grew up going to charity events and public appearances with her father, so it can’t be that much different, can it? There’s only one small problem, though. 

Does Josie even want Penelope to ask her? Everybody knows that the contenders of the tournament must attend with a date, but Josie hasn’t made it obvious that she wants Penelope to ask her. If she wanted Penelope to be her date to the Yule Ball so badly, she would have asked Penelope, or at the very least, have brought it up to her by now, right? 

Fuck. 

Girls are so confusing. 

Or maybe it’s just  _ Josie _ who’s confusing. 

MG nods towards Josie, and Penelope glances over. Josie and Rafael are extremely focused, seeming to study something on his hand. Josie looks over at Penelope briefly, and when she sees Penelope already looking, she smiles and gives her a small wave. 

Penelope waves back. Josie’s smile grows, then she turns her attention back to Rafael. 

“See?” MG asks. “Josie definitely wants you to take her.” 

“All she did was smile and wave.” 

“That’s a definite sign, did you see the  _ way  _ she smiled at you?” 

Penelope thinks about it for a second. Josie always smiles at Penelope like that, unless she’s mad at her. “Josie always smiles at me like that, it’s not like it was a  _ please take me to the ball _ type of smile, was it?” 

Penelope cringes. She’s Penelope  _ Park _ . She shouldn’t need to ask anybody for advice, especially when it comes to this. If anything, she’s the person people seek out. 

MG stares at her. Blinks a few times, then looks between her and Josie dramatically a few times, and Penelope’s afraid that he’s going to cause Josie to ask them what they’re up to.

“You’re useless.” MG decides on.

“No, I’m not. I’m being realistic. We’re just friends.” 

“Then ask her to go with you.  _ As friends. _ ”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Penelope snaps. 

She has to admit, the idea of asking Josie to the Yule Ball has been making her nervous. The two of them never had the most conventional relationship, and embarrassingly so, she’s still a bit embarrassed and insecure around Josie when it comes to certain topics- especially since what she had said after the first task. 

Fuck, they’ll have to talk some more about that, even though she knows Josie apologized multiple times. It’s not that Penelope needs another apology, she just… she’s not even sure. 

There’s so many things piling on now, the more Penelope thinks about it, and now she’s starting to understand a bit of where Josie was coming from all those weeks ago. That doesn’t make it hurt any less, though. 

MG sighs, “Alright, Pen. Your loss.” 

“Penelope!” 

Penelope hardly has any time to react as Josie practically crawls on top of her, her hands braced on either side of her head. She has no idea where Josie’s sudden interest in her has come from, and it doesn’t help that she’s practically pinned to the floor right now. It doesn’t help that Josie’s wearing the necklace Penelope’s mom had given her. Penelope couldn’t bring herself to wear it, not after her mother passed, so she held onto it. Until she was ready to wear it, or… Penelope doesn’t want to think about that right now. 

Josie looks down at her, cheeks red from laughing and the necklace Penelope had given her dangles from her neck. 

“I’m starving.” Josie tells her in a whisper. 

Penelope swallows. Feels her cheeks burn a little, the way they always seem to do when she’s with Josie. Does Josie really need to talk like that? When there’s  _ people _ around? Josie seems to realize her mistake, and she’s quickly pushing herself off of Penelope. 

“No, I’m actually starving!” Josie hisses. 

“I knew what you meant!” Penelope lies in a hushed voice. 

Penelope hates it here. She really does. Josie turns her into a stuttering, clueless mess with a few simple actions. Why can’t she handle herself around Josie? It’s not fair. The least she can do is try her best to act normal. 

She hears MG laughing, and when she looks over at them, he’s covering his mouth and shaking his head a bit. Great. Penelope gives his shoulder a shove as she gets to her feet, and dusts off her robes. She holds out her hand for Josie to take, and she seems a bit overeager to accept Penelope’s help, but it brings a ghost of a smile to her face. 

At least Josie’s still somewhat happy around her. Maybe it’s just the weed.

“I’ll get you some snacks.” Penelope tells Josie as she starts to wave goodbye to the rest of the group, frowning dramatically when she says goodbye to Rafael. Penelope refrains from rolling her eyes. 

Penelope ends up leading Josie to the kitchens, where the house elves are working. 

A crowd of greetings meet them the moment Penelope walks in, and Josie stares at her, wide-eyed. 

“What?” Penelope asks when Josie doesn’t stop staring. 

“You’re…  _ friends  _ with the house elves?” Josie questions incredulously, as if the idea is completely unfathomable. She doesn’t blame Josie for thinking that way, since most wizards and witches who still believe in owning house elves are Slytherins, but the idea has always made Penelope uncomfortable. Whenever she meets a house elf, she’s always careful to make sure that they’re comfortable around her. 

“Yes.” Penelope answers simply, but she ends up playing with her tie nervously. 

Josie nods a bit, mostly to herself. 

“You can ask for anything,” Penelope tells the Gryffindor when they grow silent. “They’ll be more than happy to make it for you.” 

“I don’t know what I want to eat.” She whispers. 

“I thought you were starving?” Penelope questions. 

“I  _ am. _ ” 

“Do you want some pastries? They have a lot of those.” 

Penelope ends up shoving a ridiculous amount of cookies and other desserts into the pockets of her school robes since Josie had so very conveniently left hers in the Hufflepuff common room, and according to her, the pockets of their pants are simply too small to hold any sort of snacks, despite the fact they typically carry their wands in them. 

They’re leaving the kitchens and pass a few of the rooms when Josie asks, “Do you remember our first kiss?” 

Penelope sputters at the question, but she realizes they had just passed the bathroom they shared it in, and the question doesn’t seem so random anymore- despite the fact that Josie’s as high as a kite.

“Yeah, you ambushed me.” Penelope recalls, because it’s the  _ truth _ . Josie had kissed her first, and took her by complete surprise. 

Josie gasps. “I did not!” 

“You sort of did.” 

“No…”

She even gets hit with a wave of nostalgia as she remembers what had happened last year with the first snowfall. The memory even has her ears turning red, slightly embarrassed at the way she holds onto that particular memory.

_ The first snowfall of the semester always means Penelope goes to Hogsmeade with her friends, so this year shouldn’t be any different, right?  _

_ Fortunately, her weekend has taken a turn she didn’t quite expect. Penelope loves when her weekends become unpredictable, it helps her pass time. She had plans to meet Hope and the Machado twins at Honeydukes, which would be much easier if she had proper clothing to make the trek with all of the new snow.  _

_ She just has one small problem.  _

_ The password to the Slytherin Common Room has changed, and nobody had thought to mention this to Penelope.  _

_ There’s not even a few first years she can scare it out of.  _

_ Penelope attempts to cast a spell to open the door, even tries to apparate, but she only re-appears a few feet away rather than her dorm. _

_ Eventually, Penelope gives up and decides to deal with it later, and makes her way to the kitchens instead. The house elves greet her happily and are kind enough to make her the best cup of hot chocolate she’s ever had, that she’s almost begging for a second, and a few of their fresh sugar cookies.  _

_ They make her a second cup and a small plate of cookies without her even asking, and she thanks them profusely- not that she would ever admit it- and wonders if she’ll be able to figure out the new password. It’s what she gets for being so forgetful, anyways.  _

_ As Penelope leaves the kitchen, she’s chewing on a cookie, and practically skips out of the room, happier than she has felt in months.  _

_ Only for it to be ruined when Josie Saltzman crashes into her, causing Penelope to drop her cookies and spill her hot chocolate all over the both of them. Josie starts apologizing profusely, saying that it’s her fault and she should have been paying attention to where she was going, as if Penelope wasn’t fucking skipping around the school like a seven year old.  _

_ Penelope grew up with Josie, always seeing her in the halls and in classes. She thinks this is the most she’s ever heard the girl speak in six years, and Penelope finds Josie’s rambling apology endearing.  _

_ So, instead of snapping at her like she would if it were anybody else, she just grabs a hold of Josie’s wrist and leads her to the nearest bathroom, where they start scrubbing the drink out of their shirts. Only after Josie dramatically makes Penelope turn around for her to take her shirt off, but it defeats the purpose when Penelope has to clean her shirt, too.  _

_ It’s weird being in the same room with Josie Saltzman alone. She knows the other girl, of course she does. She knows her well enough to know that she’s one of the brightest, strongest witches of their year, that she never laughs too loudly, even when she’s at a party. She knows her well enough to know that she prefers their potion lessons to their astronomy lessons.  _

_ Penelope scoffs to herself a bit. Isn’t it creepy that she knows all of that about a girl she’s never really spoken to? Sure, there have been the few times when they got paired up in class, or when Penelope catches Josie’s sister giving her a hard time over nothing.  _

_ She knows Josie Saltzman. But she also doesn’t, so how come it feels like she should know her better? _

_ Josie grumbles something next to her, and Penelope finds herself laughing. Yes, laughs. The sight of Josie Saltzman scrubbing her shirt in the bathroom on the first floor, in her bra as she grumbles to herself is a sight she never thought she’d see.  _

_ But then again, she doubts Josie would have expected this is how her Saturday would go. It seems fair enough that they’re both doing something new, doesn’t it? _

_ They don’t say anything as they finish up cleaning their shirts, and Penelope casts a spell to dry their shirts before they leave. She hopes to leave without another word, but she freezes when she sees the way Josie’s tie is around her neck.  _

_ Who the hell wears their tie like that? After needing to wear one nearly everyday for six years? _

_ Who the hell wears their school uniform on a Saturday? Penelope has so many questions. Maybe Josie managed to land herself into a weekend detention.  _

_ Josie notices Penelope staring, and she makes a failed attempt to make herself appear smaller. Penelope wonders if Josie could make herself invisible, she would have done it already.  _

_ “Why is this crooked?” Penelope finds herself asking, and her hands move on their own accord, undoing the fabric as Josie stutters out a response. Apparently Josie had fallen asleep in the Hufflepuff Dorms and was on her way to the Gryffindor Tower for a change of clothes.  _

_ Penelope fixes Josie’s tie, enjoying her own handiwork. She must admit, Josie looked a little cuter with a crooked tie, but she finds that she likes the excuse to be closer to the Gryffindor. _

_ She knows that she should leave, that her friends are probably worried and looking for her, and she’s spending time with Josie Saltzman out of all people. _

_ “Thank you.” Josie tells her, sounding more genuine than anybody who’s spoken to Penelope, outside of her friends, of course. It’s Penelope’s fault, letting her reputation get out of control.  _

_ “You’re welcome.”  _

_ Penelope should leave, go find her friends and leave Josie alone. There’s really no other reason for her to be here, other than the weird feeling that makes her want to stay with Josie.  _

_ Before she can, soft lips are pressing against hers and Penelope doesn’t react much, other than her fingers gripping at the tie she just fixed.  _

_ “Shit, I’m so sorry,” Josie says. “I don’t know what I was thinking, I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry, I…”  _

_ Penelope raises a brow, a bit entertained. How do you not mean to kiss somebody?  _

_ “Kiss me again.” Penelope commands.  _

_ “What?” Josie squeaks. “Are you serious?”  _

_ “Do you always talk this much after you kiss somebody?”  _

_ “What? No. I don’t… Only after I kiss cute girls…” Josie mumbles.  _

_ Penelope can’t help but laugh at that. She takes it as a compliment, or the closest she’ll get to one from Josie, and Josie’s smiling down at her shyly. It’s cute, endearing, the way Josie’s looking at her and it makes something spread across Penelope’s chest- she’s not sure what it is- she’s never felt it before.  _

“You definitely started it, that’s all I’m saying.” Penelope tells Josie after she vehemently denies that she _ didn’t. _

“ _ You  _ started it when you kissed me back.” Josie deflects. 

Penelope sighs. She  _ did  _ kiss Josie back that day, but it’s not her fault that Josie’s such a good kisser. She thinks that the blame still belongs to the Gryffindor and her spur of the moment decisions. 

They continue down the hall, arguing over the specifics of what really happened that day, and they end up in the Slytherin common room, which is thankfully empty. 

Penelope leaves Josie for a few brief seconds to run to her dorm and grab a bag of those muggle cheese puffs that she’s so obsessed with. The way Josie’s face lights up makes it absolutely worth it.

They’re sitting on the tiles of the Slytherin Common room- something new for the both of them-  _ somewhat  _ new. Josie’s been here before, briefly, but not like this, and Penelope has never spent time alone with someone like this in the room.

Penelope feels like a little kid with the way they sit on the cool tile, torn between looking at Josie or the Great Lake. Slytherin has the best common room, without a doubt. They’re located underneath the castle and half of the room has a glass wall, exposing what lurks under the water. 

There’s rumors that there’s a giant squid in the lake, but if they’re true, Penelope hasn’t seen any trace of it during her seven years, despite the fact that she had told Josie the rumors were true. The room has a green glow, and for some strange reason, when it falls across Josie’s face, just makes the Gryffindor that much more captivating. 

She’s in the middle of telling Josie about the rumors (again, but in much more detail) when Josie pulls on the string of her sweatshirt, pointing towards the glass, looking like a child who’s just walked into a candy shop for the first time. 

“Huh,” Penelope says stupidly when she sees what Josie is pointing at. All those rumors of a giant squid lurking in the waters are real. The two of them watch as it swims by peacefully, floating in front of them questioningly. Penelope can see their reflection in the glass, and in the eye of the gigantic creature in front of them. “I guess those rumors are true.” 

She hands Josie one of the treats that the house elves had given her as the animal waves one of its tentacles in what Penelope hopes is a peaceful goodbye before it swims off. If she was honest, she’s glad that she hasn’t seen the creature when she was a first year- completely scared and only twelve years old- she would have never been able to sleep in her dorm if she had. 

“Guess what that means.”

“What?”

“We’re the only two that know that there’s actually a giant squid in the lake.” 

Josie laughs, “We can’t be the only ones.” 

“We are,” Penelope insists. “During our fifth year, Maya, Hope, Ethan and I wanted to see if he’d ever swim by. We were so serious about it, we assigned shifts and everything to keep a lookout. None of us slept for a week before we gave up on seeing him. We tell the first years about him trying to break the glass, but that’s just to scare them. None of us current Slytherin’s have seen him.” 

“I’m not Slytherin.” 

Penelope rolls her eyes. “You are now. You’ve seen the squid.” 

Josie ponders the idea, then must decide that she likes the idea, because she doesn’t complain about Penelope calling her a Slytherin. If anything, Josie seems happy at the idea, a new development from her annoyance whenever Penelope has brought it up previously. A silence falls between the two of them, and Penelope starts sorting through the treats in the bag she was given. Josie watches her, and while Penelope’s been watched by the other girl several times, Penelope can’t help but feel exposed this time. 

Josie’s learned so much new information about her over the past few hours that it scares her. She has spent the whole time letting Josie learn things that not even her closest friends know. Things that Maya would probably laugh about, things Ethan would make fun of her for. Josie doesn’t seem to care, though. Penelope wonders how much she can let the other girl learn before she decides that she doesn’t want to know anymore and scare her off.

Penelope could watch Josie Saltzman for hours. 

Penelope doesn’t realize how long she’s been staring until Josie looks over at her, “What’s wrong?” 

_ You’re my best friend.  _

The thought makes Penelope want to run. Makes her want to laugh at herself for being so stupid, because what kind of bullshit is that? Josie doesn’t want to be friends with her, much less hear Penelope tell her that Penelope considers her as her best friend. Penelope can’t explain it- even after all the messiness in their relationship, after all the times she’s heard Josie say  _ I hate you _ , after all the times they’ve argued and don’t talk for days afterwards, Penelope always goes crawling back for more. 

“Nothing. You got something on your face.” Penelope lies, and Josie shoves her shoulder, but she’s smiling, and Penelope feels lighter. 

She should say it. It’s only four simple words, so why does it feel like it’ll complicate them even further? Because it’ll mean that Penelope actually cares for her? Because Josie will just act like Penelope doesn’t mean a word she says? 

Josie’s brushing at her cheek, trying to wipe away whatever Penelope claims is on her face. 

“Other side,” Penelope tells her. Josie grumbles something, and wipes her other cheek. “Okay, it’s gone.” 

“Jade asked me to go to the Yule Ball with her.” Josie blurts. 

Penelope has to fight the urge to storm across the grounds to find Jade. She shoves down the bout of emotions at Josie’s confession, and she does her best to keep her voice stable as she asks, “Did you say yes?” 

“No. I don’t want to go with her.” 

“Oh.” Penelope doesn’t know what to say to that. She’s starting to dislike Jade more and more, but she’s not about to tell Josie that when she knows that she’ll just be rewarded with one of Josie pouts. She wishes the Durmstrang student would just leave already, and never bother her again. It would make her and Josie’s lives a lot easier- Josie would have less competition for the tournament, and Penelope wouldn’t have to deal with a dumbass. 

“Are you going?” 

“No.” Penelope replies, and Josie rolls her eyes. 

“Yes, you are.” 

“Who told you that?” 

“All of the upper years are required to go, Penelope.” 

_ Shit.  _ Penelope thought that was just for Josie and the other girls. She hadn’t realized that she’s required to go as well. What the hell is she going to wear? God, she did not think this through. She can feel Josie staring at her expectantly, like she knew that Penelope didn’t know the whole story. 

“We should go together, then.” 

Penelope wants to take the words back as soon as she says them, because her mouth clearly wasn’t communicating properly with her brain, and she knows her offer takes Josie by surprise. 

“We should.” Josie agrees. 

“As friends.” Penelope clarifies, because it’s important to her that Josie knows that she’s still going to respect her wishes. They’ll go to the Yule Ball. As friends. Dance together as friends. It’ll be easy. Penelope can handle a few pointless hours next to Josie. Maybe it’ll even be fun. 

Josie frowns slightly, and Penelope’s afraid she said something wrong. Before either one of them can say anything, the door swings on its hinges loudly, and Hope comes stumbling into the common room, her face red from exertion. She must have just ran around the castle in search of something. Penelope half expects Hope to storm pass her and up to the dorms without speaking a single word, or even look in their direction.

“Penelope,” Hope gasps out, making direct eye contact with her, “They found my parents.” 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super sorry for the longer wait in between chapters. Life has been a bit rough rn and I figured I’d post a quick chapter before I wouldn’t be able to update for even longer. 
> 
> Hope u guys enjoy

Penelope spends a week in St. Mungo’s hospital with Hope. 

It is easily the worst week of Penelope’s life. 

She spends the week either in the chair in the corner of the room Hope’s parents are in, in the hospital cafeteria, or wandering around the halls in search of any form of entertainment. Her and Hope take a few days to warm up to each other again, both of them taken aback by the information they were given by the nurses and doctors.

It’s a miracle that Hope’s parents are alive. Truly. Given the limited information all of them have, they can only assume that they were tortured with the cruciatus curse. Penelope hates the thought of it, imagining Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall going through that pain- over and over again. She’s never seen them anything less but their best- the way all Mikaelsons tend to behave. 

The third day her and Hope are at the hospital, huddled in the corner of the room, playing a game of Wizard Chess, Hope’s mother wakes up. 

It gets their hopes up, but she slips back into her coma after a day or so of talking to Hope. The two of them are told it’s normal, for people to wake up from comas and slip back into one. Penelope hates it. Especially when she sees the pain it brings Hope.

Hospitals aren’t so bad, not really. It’s the fact that she’s been in a hospital for a week, and has barely spoken to her best friend while they wait for her parents to wake up- if they ever do. The nurses warned them that they may never truly wake up, or if they  _ do,  _ they’ll never be the same again.

After a week, her and Hope are in the cafeteria getting food. Penelope doesn’t care much, but they’re bickering over some small fact- it’s the most they’ve talked, so it makes her feel lighter and happier, despite the situation at hand. She’s handing Hope some chocolate when she freezes, swearing she’s caught a glimpse of familiar brown hair. 

Her suspicions are confirmed when she hears a familiar voice, “I can’t believe dad was stupid enough to…”

“Lizzie?” Hope stammers out like a moron, and Penelope cracks a smile. She looks over at Josie, who looks more worried and upset than Lizzie does. 

“Jo? Why are you guys here?” Penelope asks, deciding that it’s safer to leave Hope and Lizzie alone. 

“Our dad was in an accident,” Josie answers, biting at her lower lip. “He’s fine, but he needs to stay for a few days. Lizzie and I are just visiting him. How are Hope’s parents?” 

“They’re… safe. We don’t know if they’ll wake up.” Penelope explains carefully. She doesn’t want to give away too much information, not without Hope knowing. Josie seems to be at loss for words, toying with the sleeve of her sweater. 

Penelope kind of wants to hug her. 

She would, but they’ve never really  _ hugged _ before. Or have they? Penelope can’t remember. If they have, she can’t recall, but it seems like it would be nice. To be hugged by Josie, at least once. To hug her and be comforted without either one of them screwing up. To be comforted without words and just the fact that Josie’s  _ there _ . Penelope has never thought about hugging somebody like this before, but there’s a first time for everything. 

Josie looks past Penelope, and gives her an apologetic look, “I have to go, make sure Lizzie doesn’t scar any of the workers.” 

Penelope watches Josie catch up with Lizzie. It takes her a few seconds to realize that Hope has disappeared, and Penelope sighs. She doesn’t hold it against Hope for taking the opportunity to disappear on her, but she was hoping that they could actually  _ talk  _ one of these days. 

She finds Hope sitting in one of the chairs outside of the room her parents are in. 

Penelope sits in the one next to her wordlessly, offering Hope a cup of coffee she had gotten, despite the fact that it’s getting late. She figures they both could use the energy, in case something happens. 

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” Penelope eventually says. She must admit, it’s hard to find the right way to apologize to Hope- there’s a million reasons to be sorry. Her parents are hurt. Penelope’s  _ father  _ is the reason why. She knows her father will never apologize for his actions, even if they hurt people. Penelope hates it- how he’s made the past few months of Hope’s life hard, out of pure selfishness. She can’t believe he’s her  _ father.  _ “I don’t really know what to say or do, to be honest.” She admits. 

Hope looks at her. Penelope loves Hope, and she wants to  _ say  _ that, but it’s hard when she knows that Hope may choose to ignore her words, or just ignore Penelope completely. She tries to tell herself that she understands, and it’s hard. She  _ doesn’t  _ understand, no matter how much she tries. Hope’s parents haven’t done anything wrong, and they’ve been treated like they have. 

“I don’t know what to say, either,” Hope confesses quietly. “My parents might die because of your father.” 

Penelope tries her best to not react to the way Hope’s voice raises a bit, because Hope has every reason to hate her. To be harsh and cold to her. Penelope’s surprised and thankful that Hope hasn’t cut Penelope out of her life completely. 

“It’s shitty,” Penelope says. “I don’t think any apology from me will make you feel better.” 

“It won’t.” 

Penelope doesn’t know what else to say after that. Hope clearly doesn’t want to talk to her right now, about anything. There’s nothing Penelope can do about that, and she’s not going to force Hope into talking to her. 

“I, uh… I think I’m going back to Hogwarts soon,” Penelope informs Hope. “I want to stay here with you, but I need to do well in school this year, and… You understand, right?” 

Hope nods wordlessly. They sit in silence for a few moments, and Penelope begins to sip on her coffee, in hopes that it’ll help pass the time. After five minutes or so, Hope starts to say something, but then decides against it. Penelope doesn’t pressure her to say anything- she doesn’t want to set off Hope’s anger. 

“I’m going back next week,” Hope eventually tells her. “Aunt Freya is on her way here, I’ll be with her for a few days before going back to school.” 

“It’ll be good for you to see her.” 

Hope mumbles an agreement, before excusing herself and going into the room her parents are in. Penelope doesn’t bother to follow her; she doubts Hope wants her company right now. Penelope debates on leaving, but she has nowhere to go. She didn’t think to book a hotel room or anything, and she doesn’t even have any galleons with her to pay for it.

Penelope’s still alone when Josie sits down next to her, offering Penelope a kind smile. Penelope manages to give one back, but Josie’s able to see right through her act. 

“What’s wrong?” Josie asks.

Penelope hesitates to answer. She can’t tell if Josie’s asking to be nice, or if it’s because she actually cares and wants to hear what she has to say.

She decides, fuck it, she’s going to tell Josie the truth because her thoughts have been eating up at her all week and she needs to tell  _ someone.  _ Anybody who’s willing to listen. 

“I can’t help but think that they’ll wake up hating me.” Penelope whispers, fiddling with the lid of her coffee. If possible, Josie’s pout only grows as she sits in the empty chair next to her. 

“They won’t.” 

Penelope laughs dryly, staring at the tile pattern on the floor. Growing up with the Mikaelsons was one of the best parts of her childhood, and to only find out what her father has done angers her. His actions always seem to reflect poorly on her. Penelope wouldn’t be surprised if Klaus and Hayley woke up, deciding that they want nothing to do with her, just like Hope had done when they discovered part of the truth. 

She can’t find it in herself to respond to Josie, although the confidence in the girl’s response had made her feel slightly better. The two of them sit in silence, Penelope continuing to count the tiles, sipping her coffee occasionally, Josie doing the same. Penelope always feels comforted when she’s near Josie, even if they aren’t on the best of terms. It’s almost as if the two of them are always able to do  _ something  _ together, even if it’s sulking in silence. 

Josie shifts in the chair next to her, and Penelope just begins to realize how uncomfortable they are. When Penelope looks over at Josie, Josie’s staring at her in a way that’s unnerving. Penelope’s been with Josie enough times to know what a certain expression means for the other girl, but she grows uneasy this time, trying to determine what could possibly be wheeling through her brain right now.

Rather than saying anything, Josie pulls out a bouquet of flowers, seemingly out of nowhere, offering them to Penelope nervously. 

“What’s this?” 

“I want to apologize,” Josie explains, soothing out her sweater, “For everything I said. I know that I hurt you, I’m  _ sorry  _ that I hurt you. I just… I have no good excuse for what I said after the first task, but I truly am sorry.” 

Penelope swallows roughly, not expecting another apology from Josie, and certainly not now. They had just seemed to figure out how to be friends, and Josie comes here apologizing for something that happened months ago? Something that happened between them, probably for the better? 

Josie looks like she wants to say something else, still playing with her sweater. Penelope’s still deciding on if she should accept the flowers or not. Friends don’t get each other flowers to apologize, do they? In the past, Penelope’s always tried to bribe for Hope’s forgiveness with her favorite candies, promising to do her homework a few times, but never  _ flowers.  _

Great. Here she goes again, over thinking everything that revolves around Josie Saltzman.

“Or not an apology at all, just flowers. I read somewhere that flowers can actually bring a sense of calmness and comfort in places like the hospital, especially if they’re fresh like these ones,” Josie begins to ramble, practically burying her face in the flowers in embarrassment, “I know you haven’t slept in a while, and that you most likely won’t for another few hours. It sucks that you can’t wait in the room with Hope. I don’t think it’s fair, since-”

Penelope takes the flowers out of Josie’s hand carefully. Admittedly, Penelope has never been one for flowers as a gift. She had always found them a waste of space and money, but she takes the time to inhale the scent of them. She may be biased, but she appreciates the thought coming from Josie. 

“I love them, thank you.” Penelope assures quietly, effectively cutting Josie’s rambling short. 

Josie blinks a few times, “Y-you do? I wasn’t even sure if you liked flowers, I almost got a teddy bear instead. Or should I have gotten both? I thought that you’d-”

“A teddy bear would have been nice, too.” 

Josie gets to her feet immediately, “I can still go get-”

Penelope grabs Josie’s wrist, pulling her back down next to her, “I was joking, this is fine.” The space that Josie had carefully placed between them before is gone, their knees pressing together. Josie looks so warm and cozy in her sweater, that Penelope wishes Josie would hold her and mumble comforting things into her ear forever. 

_ Stop it.  _ Penelope scolds herself.  _ You need to stop thinking like that.  _

But that’s the thing. Penelope doesn’t know how to stop thinking like that. Not since her and Josie started talking more last semester. Josie was on Penelope’s mind all summer, and now that they’re back in school, back to seeing each other everyday and finding themselves together more and more often, it’s only been getting harder for Penelope to act like they’re friends. Last school year, it was easy. Josie reminded Penelope that she hated her every chance she got, and a part of Penelope had forced herself to believe it, rather than attempting to get closer to Josie. 

Clearly, her plan has misfired, because now Josie’s rambling again, only this time she’s playing with their linked fingers and Penelope’s watching her as if it’s the last time she’ll be able to. 

She loves Josie like this. 

Penelope tenses briefly at the thought, waiting for Josie to react as if she has been reading Penelope’s thoughts all along, but Josie doesn’t even pause for air as she continues to ramble. 

Penelope adores Josie like this. When the taller girl is being so unapologetically  _ her.  _ She’s spent six years of sharing classes with Josie, of walking past her in the halls, of singling her out in the crowd of hundreds of students during her quidditch match, and Josie had always constantly made herself smaller than she really was, as if she was constantly afraid of taking up too much space. Or she’d never talk too much in class, doing their work quietly and only talking when their professor called on them. 

Even in the halls, whenever Josie was with her friends. Josie had always been careful to not laugh too loudly, or to pay attention to every word that was being spoken, rather than speaking herself. 

Penelope’s noticed that Josie’s been bolder since the tournament. More confident, and doing her own thing. The thought makes Penelope’s chest swell in a sense of pride. She’s glad for Josie, how could she not be? 

“Pen?” 

“Huh?” 

“I asked if you need a place to spend the night,” Josie tells her, rubbing the back of her neck. “My mom booked Lizzie and I a room at the hotel right across the street, but Lizzie already told me she’s not spending the night, so I’ll be alone, and… It’s fine if you already got a place, but I didn’t think you would want to be spending all night in these uncomfortable chairs.”

_ Oh.  _ Strangely, Penelope feels the tips of her ears begin to burn. How old is she? Thirteen? Can she seriously not handle the idea of Josie inviting her to spend the night? 

She should turn down Josie’s offer, tell her she already booked her own room, but that’s a lie. What if the hotel is fully booked? Penelope would just look like an idiot if Josie found out she had lied. Penelope could go to a different hotel, but the next closest one is a ten minute drive, and Penelope doesn’t want to entertain the idea of her in a cab with a stranger right now. 

“There’s also a restaurant, so you don’t have to worry about eating more pudding cups.” Josie adds on, the restaurant a clear afterthought, and Penelope bites the inside of her cheek as Josie looks at her with hopeful brown eyes. 

Did Josie seriously just give Penelope her puppy eyes? 

Thankfully, Penelope’s never been a victim of the look, until now, but she’s witnessed it several times over the past seven years. Josie uses it to get her and her friends out of trouble for nearly anything. 

Josie must sense that it’s not working, because she only pouts some more, and Penelope thinks she might have imagined it, but she  _ swears  _ Josie’s eyes line up with tears for a split second. 

“Okay,” Penelope huffs out eventually, only causing Josie to smile victoriously. “But I call the bed closest to the window.” 

“Deal!” Josie chirps. 

Minutes later, they’re crossing the street with their arms linked, both of them huddled close for warmth. Winter has just started, yet there’s no signs that it has even begun, aside from the biting cold air. Penelope waits to the side awkwardly as Josie checks them in, and the receptionist says something to Josie that makes her blush. 

Penelope doesn’t like it, but she manages to shove down the feeling of jealousy and possessiveness into the pit of her stomach. The feeling goes away when Josie turns around and smiles at her brightly, and Penelope wonders why she was even jealous in the first place. Josie only smiles like that at  _ her _ . 

They make their way to the room, and when Penelope switches the light on, she pauses momentarily, causing Josie to run into her. 

“What’s wro- oh.” 

The two of them stare at the bed in the middle of the room. The  _ single  _ bed in the middle of the room. 

It’s not a big issue. Her and Josie have shared a room before. A  _ bed _ before. It’s still enough to make Penelope want to retract her agreement to spend the night with Josie. 

When she looks over at the taller girl, she seems to be going through the same dilemma before she settles on, “I’ll sleep on the floor, it’s fine.” 

It’s definitely not fine. There’s no reason for Josie to sleep on the filthy floor. 

“No, it’s your hotel room.” 

“You’re the guest.” 

“You’re taking the bed. We’ll just ask for more blankets or something. I can handle sleeping on the floor, at least there’s carpet.” Penelope reasons. She has to admit, the carpet looks much more inviting than the cold stone she’d be sleeping on if they were back at Hogwarts. 

“I can ask if there's another room available, Josie offers. “Or… we could share the bed?” 

Penelope gives her a look, and Josie frowns a bit. “I’m sleeping on the floor.” 

Josie doesn’t argue with her after that, and Penelope runs off to lock herself in the bathroom before her and Josie can have any more embarrassing conversations. Plus, she’s sure she was starting to smell gross and didn’t want to stay around Josie in dirty clothes.

Thankfully, after her shower Penelope feels refreshed and less bothered by the whole bed situation. 

When she steps out of the bathroom, she doesn’t think she’s ever seen somebody turn around so quickly. Josie was sitting on the bed, reading some book when Penelope stepped into the room. The book practically flies out of Josie’s hand when she turns to face the opposite wall. 

Penelope stares uselessly for a few moments, standing in her towel as she tries to understand  _ why  _ Josie’s antics are so humorous and cute. 

“What are you doing?” Penelope eventually questions. 

Josie doesn’t even turn to look at her. “Nothing.” 

Penelope rolls her eyes. She’s pretty sure Josie’s eyes are wielded shut. 

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, it’s no big deal.” 

“I- well… you were- I was just-” Josie sighs in annoyance, and Penelope can’t help but smile as she pulls a sweater over her head. Josie still doesn’t turn to face her again, despite the fact that Penelope’s been dressed for a while now. 

“You can turn back around.” 

“Right,” Josie huffs, turning back around, her face red. “Hey, that’s mine.” 

Penelope looks down at the shirt she had put on, and finds out that it is, in fact, Josie’s Gryffindor sweater. 

“No, it’s mine.” Penelope lies. There’s nothing more embarrassing than this, is there? She doesn’t even remember packing this. She doesn’t even remember keeping it from Josie. Penelope wonders if Josie actually cares, and she prepares to take it off and return it, but Josie has a faint smile ghosting her lips, like she’s not really sure if she wants to.

Penelope grabs the pile of blankets that are left on the edge of bed, and starts setting them up on the floor near the window with Josie watching. She doesn’t comment on the gaze, and Josie doesn’t make an attempt to stop looking or make it any less obvious. 

“You really shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor,” Josie finally comments. “You’ll wake up with a sore back.” 

“It’s one night.” 

“There’s germs down there, you have now idea how dirty it is.” 

Penelope stops her movements, looking over at the Gryffindor. She wishes that Josie would just let Penelope sleep on the floor and not comment on it every five seconds. It’s not like there’s a bunch of broken glass around her, or that they usually share a bed. 

“I’ll survive. Go to bed.” 

Josie huffs. 

“Can you stop being so stubborn? Just get over here,” Josie practically commands, taking Penelope by surprise, until Josie lowers her voice and very sweetly adds, “Please.” 

Penelope thinks it must be a trick. Something to test her, or something. Josie gives her a pout, and that’s the end of Penelope’s doubts. Penelope does her best to not seem overeager at the idea of being closer to Josie, but she thinks she fails when Josie smiles as she gets into the bed next to her. 

“Hi.” Josie whispers. 

“Hey.” Penelope whispers dumbly back.

They end up whispering over everything and nothing, and Penelope has no idea how she ends up with Josie straddling her and asking, “Can I take your shirt off?”

Penelope nods, and she manages to pull the fabric back over her head with Josie’s help. 

Once they discard her shirt Josie pouts, making Penelope feel a bit self conscious and she wants to pull away. She doesn’t, managing to find her voice. 

“What’s wrong?” Penelope whispers. 

Josie’s thumb carefully runs over a sensitive spot on Penelope’s ribs, causing her to shake with a shuddering breath. Penelope knows exactly what Josie is suddenly fixated on. The ragged, white patch of healed skin that had appeared on Penelope after she used Caroline’s pensieve. She had woken up the next morning in pain, and when she looked at herself in the mirror, she was greeted by the new scar. Penelope still has no idea what caused it, and what it means. If it means anything. 

“This is new.” Josie murmurs back, as if she had expected Penelope to keep her updated on her ever growing list of injuries. 

“It’s nothing.” 

Which is true. It hasn’t affected Penelope since the day it magically appeared on her skin, only served as a reminder. The statement only causes Josie’s brows to furrow together in more concern and confusion. Josie presses her thumb down, as if to test Penelope and find out she had lied. 

Penelope doesn’t mind the way Josie’s watching her. In fact, in some weird way she enjoys it. It makes Penelope feel that Josie cares about her the same way. Makes her feel like that whatever is between them is just as important to her as it is to Penelope. Josie rocks forward a bit, and Penelope has no idea how she’s missed it before. Even in the dim light, it catches onto the golden chain around Josie’s neck, peaking through the collar of her shirt. . It’s the necklace Penelope had given to her before Hope’s parents were found. She didn’t think that Josie would actually  _ wear  _ it, and now that Penelope knows that she is, it makes her grow nervous. She had briefly mentioned that it belonged to her mother before giving it to Josie. 

She didn’t mention that when her mother had given it to her, she made it clear she wanted Penelope to give it to somebody she’d spend the rest of her life with. 

Josie kisses her, and Penelope wonders how she ever survived so long without it. 

Josie kisses her, and Penelope melts. She melts and kisses Josie back, hoping and praying that Josie understands what she can’t voice out loud. 

Penelope’s addicted to Josie, and she can’t stop consuming her. She’s addicted to the way Josie continues to kiss her, to the way Josie responds to the words Penelope blindly murmurs into her ear, to the way Josie comes alive under her finger tips. She’s addicted to the way Josie touches her, and with the way Josie falls into her embrace, and the way she whispers Penelope’s name against her collarbone makes Penelope think that maybe, just maybe Josie’s addicted to her, too. Penelope can only hope that she’s not alone in feeling whatever is happening between them. 

Eventually, Josie’s shirt is tossed carelessly to the side and Penelope doesn’t think being with Josie like this has ever felt this way before. 

They’re both breathing heavily, and when Josie’s thumb brushes across her cheek, she can’t help the words that tumble out of her mouth when their eyes lock. 

“This means something to me,” Penelope admits. She feels small admitting it, but it’s been sitting on her shoulders for months. “Whatever is happening between us, I… it  _ matters. _ ” 

Josie looks at her searching for something in Penelope’s face. She must find what she was looking for, because she exhales softly and whispers, “It matters to me, too.” 

Penelope nods, not sure what to do with the information. She had expected Josie to push her away after the confession, but instead, there’s something in Josie’s expression that she can’t quite understand, but she knows it’s not a bad thing when Josie leans forward again. 

It’s a relief to know that Josie isn’t scared off by her confession. Especially when Josie kisses her again. 

The air changes between them that night. Penelope can’t explain it, but she kisses Josie back and for once, it feels like Josie isn’t going to slip away seconds later. Josie touches her, soft and gentle and whispers shared confessions into her ear. 

Time slips by them after, and once they’re finally able to stop kissing, Penelope’s tracing along the outline of Josie’s shoulders when she mumbles, “Will you be here in the morning?” 

“Do you want me to be?” Penelope asks. She’ll leave if it’s what Josie wants, but Josie rests an arm across Penelope’s stomach, pulling her closer. 

“Yes.” 

  
  



End file.
